India, April 10 -- Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached staff-level agreement on economic policies to conclude the combined fifth and sixth reviews of the island nation's reform programme, the global body said in a statement on Thursday.

An IMF team was in Sri Lanka from March 26 until April 9 to conduct the combined fifth and sixth reviews of Sri Lanka's reform programme supported by the global lender's Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

The two tranches together will release $700 million from the $2.9 billion bailout in 2023. The IMF noted that ongoing economic reforms implemented by Sri Lankan authorities have supported the country's recovery, with foreign reserves increasing and both real GDP growth and revenu...