The fourth review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported-program for Sri Lanka concludes today.

According to Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Anil Jayanta Fernando, discussions related to this review began recently between representatives of the IMF and Sri Lanka.

The discussions are being held in Washington, D.C., with participation from Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, and other officials.

Dr. Anil Jayanta Fernando stated that with the conclusion of the fourth review, the IMF staff-level agreement for the disbursement of the fifth tranche will be announced.

On Thursday (24), the International Monetary Funds said it hopes to reach a Staff-Level Agreement on the next review of Sri Lanka's program soon.

"The team was in Sri Lanka not too long ago, and they were in the midst of having discussions with the authorities when these tariffs were announced. So for the team, it became quite difficult to put together a macro framework, which takes into account the tariffs and the implications they have on growth, on exports, and so on and so forth. So that was an example of how uncertainty can affect just operations with countries. So the team is back here, and we've continued discussions with the authorities," said Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, in response to a question posed by News 1st's Zulfick Farzan during a press conference held in Washington, DC.