11,000 MT of rice from India reaches Colombo ahead of new year celebrations
Colombo (Sri Lanka), April 12: Ahead of the new year celebrations in Sri Lanka, 11,000 MT of rice from India reached Colombo on Tuesday, informed the officials.
According to the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka, the rice arrived in Colombo on board the ship Chen Glory.
The new year in Sri Lanka is generally celebrated on April 13 or April 14, traditionally beginning at the sighting of the new moon.
As per the embassy, India has sent over 16,000 MT of rice under its multi-pronged support to Sri Lanka in the past week alone and added that the supplies mark the special bond between India and the island nation.
Notably, amid the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, India has stepped forward to help the island nation by supplying fuel, vegetables, daily ration items and medicines.
India has already delivered over 270,000 MT of fuel to Sri Lanka till now and has announced another USD 1 billion as a credit to help shore up the sinking economy of the island nation.
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The USD 1 billion Line of Credit to Colombo will help the country in keeping its food prices and fuel costs under check.
Since January of this year, India has provided more than USD 2.5 billion in assistance to Sri Lanka. In February, New Delhi issued a USD 500 million short-term loans to Colombo for the purchase of petroleum supplies on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka through the Ministry of Energy and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. In November 2021, India gave Sri Lanka 100 tonnes of nano nitrogen liquid fertilisers, after this their government banned the import of chemical fertilisers.
Furthermore, the Reserve Bank of India has extended a USD 400 million currency swap and deferred payments owed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka under the Asian Clearance Union totalling several hundred million dollars.
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-PTC News
