Sri Lanka central bank Guv signals he will stay

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's central bank governor signalled on Monday he would stay in the job but warned that prolonged political instability in the country may delay progress on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package, Reuters reported.

Governor P Nandalal Weerasinghe, who has been holding bailout talks with the IMF since taking office in April, had told reporters in May he could resign if there was no political stability in the island nation of 22 million that is facing its worst economic crisis in seven decades.

"Political instability might delay the progress we have been making so far," Weerasinghe said regarding the talks with the IMF

"I would like to have a stable political administration, the sooner the better, for us to make progress, mainly on the programmes we are negotiating with the IMF, bridging finance and also to address shortages of fuel, gas and other

things."