Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka said on Monday that the government was close to concluding talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a day after declaring a state of emergency in the island nation.

“The acting president also stated that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were nearing completion, and conversations for help with other governments were also ongoing,” Wickremesinghe’s office said in a statement.

The declaration came after Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency in the crisis-torn country late on Sunday, in an effort to quell protests ahead of a vote in parliament later this week to pick a new president.

Since April, when public protests erupted over the government’s handling of a worsening economic crisis and a continuous lack of basics, Sri Lanka’s embattled authorities have declared a state of emergency multiple times.