Sri Lanka’s central bank chief said Thursday he hopes the government can reach a preliminary agreement that could lead to a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund when its officials visit the crisis-hit island nation later this month.

The Indian Ocean country is effectively bankrupt and its economic crisis set off massive public protests that led to the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month. The government has said the crisis has made the negotiations with the IMF difficult.

Nandalal Weerasinghe, the governor of Sri Lanka’s central bank, said he hoped IMF officials and Sri Lanka’s government could “finalize and reach a staff-level agreement” on the policy package during their meetings.

Sri Lanka announced in April that it is suspending the repayment of foreign loans. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion, of which it must pay $28 billion by 2027. The country has said it needs to restructure all of its debt.