Sri Lanka foreign reserves at record low, politics in crisis

BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s finance minister says the South Asian country’s economy is in dire straits with its usable foreign reserves down to less than $50 million. Ali Sabri told Parliament on Wednesday that a rescue program from the International Monetary Fund was expected to take at least six months. Sabry spoke after his return from talks with the IMF.  He said an IMF rescue program including a rapid financing instrument to urgently resolve shortages of essential goods would depend on negotiations with creditors on debt restructuring. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans. Its economic crisis has brought a political crisis, with the government facing a no-confidence motion.