Colombo, Apr 29 (IANS): Domestic debt in the form of government securities and development bonds will not be restructured as restructuring external debt is a top priority for Sri Lanka, central bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said.

Addressing a meeting of the Committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Weerasinghe also provided an update on the progress made during the recent discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said progress has been made towards establishing a macro-fiscal policy framework and initiating structural reforms.

The Governor also expressed confidence that a staff-level agreement with the IMF is likely to be reached within the next two months.

Weerasinghe announced that additional measures will be implemented to address urgent economic concerns.

The measures include introducing regulations to encourage the US dollar flows currently transacting in the informal market to be channeled through the formal banking system.

As a result of policy measures already introduced by the central bank and the government, he is of the view that expenditure on imports will be declining further to more sustainable levels.

Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis brought about by foreign currency shortages and it halted external debt repayment on April 12.