The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Sri Lanka to tighten its monetary policy, raise taxes, and adopt flexible exchange rates to overcome its debt crisis.

Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, acting director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, made the plea to Sri Lanka at an online event on Tuesday.

“The requirement for fund lending will be progress toward debt sustainability. Monetary policy has to be tightened to keep inflation in check. We see a need for flexible exchange rates,” she said.

She, however, did not comment on the value of any IMF package or the estimated time needed to come into an agreement with Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry and Governor of the Central Bank Nandalal Weerasinghe recently concluded a visit to the IMF to discuss financing help for the country.

Earlier, the South Asian country suspended external debt payments.

(Xinhua/NAN)