By Uditha Jayasinghe

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Official talks between Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund will begin next month, a cabinet spokesperson said Tuesday. This is as part of the government’s efforts to stave off Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since years, amid rising protests.

Ramesh Pathirana, a spokesperson for Sri Lanka told reporters that Sri Lanka would begin formal discussions with the IMF “next month”. This signals the end of months of resistance by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to receive assistance from the international lender.

Pathirana indicated that the government would increase its IMF support plans in the coming weeks. This is as Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa prepares for discussions with IMF in Washington D.C., in mid April.

Sri Lanka has a drop in foreign reserves of 70% over the last 2 years, to approximately $2.31 Billion. It is also struggling to purchase essential imports like fuel.

Last week’s devaluation has fueled already skyrocketing inflation, and caused even more misery for Sri Lankans living with constant power and fuel cuts.

As part of efforts to stabilize the situation rapidly deteriorating, Rajapaksa (Finance Minister) flew Tuesday to New Delhi to sign a $1 Billion credit line. This will pay for imports essential to his country.

The 22 million-strong island nation is experiencing growing public outrage. The main opposition party in Sri Lanka plans to organize a protest march in Colombo on Tuesday. Supporters will be brought in by bus from the country.

Social media also showed dissatisfaction with the government, as many people used the hashtag #GotaGoHome to attack President Obama.

(Reporting Uditha Jasinghe. Writing by Devjyot Gahoshal. Editing by Kim Coghill.