Claiming that Sri Lanka has come a long way in terms of undertaking reforms which have led to some hard won gains, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)said they could move fast towards the third review which will come up soon.

IMF Director of the Asia and Pacific Department Krishna Srinivasan told a special briefing that there is consensus that the new government would like to safeguard and build on the hard won gains under the program.

"We had some very, very productive discussions with the new government and the team there. And the discussions are continuing this week during the Annual Meetings. Now, there was broad consensus, I would say unanimous consensus, that Sri Lanka, which was tearing at the abyss in 2022, has come a long way in terms of undertaking reforms which have led to some hard won gains. You'll note that growth has been positive in the last four quarters. Inflation is coming down. So there is consensus that the new government would like to safeguard and build on the hard won gains under the program," he said.

He said , under the program, the IMF have elements which address some of the priorities of the new government, including in terms of social protection and so on.

"But the details on the program are continuing and they'll be happening this week in Washington. And we are encouraged by what we have heard so far and hoping that, we can move fast towards the third review which will come up soon," he added.

Responding to a question on the debt restructuring, he said Sri Lanka has reached agreements with the official creditors and in principle with the private creditors.

"The next step would be to reach a formal agreement with all creditors. And that's a big step forward. And of course that's not the end. There's a lot more work to be done in terms of continuing with the reforms because a long way to go before you're on the path of strong and sustainable recovery," he said.

"Now there was one question on specific tax measures there. I don't want to go to the detail because those are things being worked out in the context of discussions which are ongoing right now. Hopefully, we will move along these negotiations over the next few weeks in a more targeted way," he said.

While refuting claims by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe that his government had allocated funds required to increase public sector salaries, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that no such funds had been allocated.

A Fundamental Rights petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking an order preventing Ranjan Ramanayake from contesting the parliamentary election scheduled for November 14.

The Election Commission has decided to mark the voters' index fingers for this year's general elections, Commissioner General Saman Ratnayake announced. He said the elections are scheduled for November 14, 2024.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to hold a series of meetings with the High Commissioners of South Africa and New Zealand, along with the Ambassadors of Iran and Myanmar, as well as a delegation from the European Union today (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the security threats to Israeli nationals in the Arugam Bay area, Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath said.

Sri Lanka should get its foreign policy right in the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mujibur Rahman said today.

The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory urging travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Sri Lanka due to demonstrations, the threat of terrorist attacks and crime, particularly in the Arugam Bay area.

Sri Lankan security forces have been alerted to a potential attack on Israelis in the Arugam Bay area by Indian intelligence agencies. According to intelligence information, the threat is believed to be targeted at foreign nationals.

Former Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara asked why the government did not take action to beef up security for foreign tourists in advance if it had received information on a possible threat on October 7, according to the statement made by Acting Chief of Police.

Former Presidential Advisor Sagala Ratnayake has advised the current government to appoint a National Security Advisor to prevent potential threats from terrorists to Sri Lanka. Addressing the media yesterday, Ratnayake said that the introduction of an intelligence-sharing network with other countries had helped the former government avoid such threats.