Sri Lanka's $12.5 billion bondholder debt rework has received support from bilateral creditors and the International Monetary Fund, the finance ministry said on Friday, a huge boost to the island nation's fragile economy.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will have detailed talks with the IMF on the framework of a $2.9 billion bailout programme on the sidelines of the lender's annual meetings in Washington later this month, the country's cabinet spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund said it’s looking forward to working with Sri Lanka’s newly elected leftist president, including on the latest review of the country’s $3 billion bailout package.

Sri Lanka's new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Wednesday that he plans to begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) immediately to take forward the country's $2.9 billion bailout programme.

Sri Lanka's painful austerity measures were "bearing fruit" and must be sustained, the International Monetary Fund said Friday as the country's new president sought changes to its $2.9 billion bailout.

Sri Lanka plans to move ahead with the third review of its nearly $3 billion programme of support from the International Monetary Fund, the new government said on Thursday, as the island nation seeks to emerge from its worst financial crisis in decades.

Sri Lanka's new president Thursday urged the IMF to consider "alternative means" to continue with a $2.9 billion bailout that aided his country in the wake of a sovereign default but imposed painful austerity.