COLOMBO, May 10 Reuters An International Monetary Fund IMF staff team will arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday, a statement from the global lender said as the crisishit country prepares for the first review of a loan programme in September.

The delegation will visit Sri Lanka during May 1123 as part of regular consultations ahead of the first review mission later this year, the IMF said in a statement.

Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department, will join the May 1215 visit and a press briefing will be held on Monday, it said.

Sri Lanka is struggling with its worst financial crisis in over seven decades triggered by a severe shortage of foreign exchange.

The island finalised a nearly 3 billion IMF programme in March.

Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

Source Reuters