New Delhi, April 6: As Sri Lanka faces a severe economic crisis, India has been providing fuel to Colombo to help it meet some of its immediate needs and stabilise its domestic economy.
A total of 76,000 tonnes of fuel have been delivered to Sri Lanka in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall delivery of fuel under Indian assistance to more than 2,70,000 tonnes.
In the last 24 hours, India has sent one consignment each of 36,000 MT petrol and 40,000 MT diesel to Sri Lanka, according to the Indian High Commission in Colombo.
"The total supply of various types of fuel under Indian assistance now stands at more than 270,000 MT," informed the High Commission of India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday.
The island nation is currently experiencing a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of people. The economy of Sri Lanka has been in a free fall since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan rupee is fast depreciating against the dollar and foreign debt is mounting. The Sri Lankan government's income has also suffered due to a drop in tourism, rising gas and fuel shortages that triggered massive power cuts.
Also Read | Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revokes State of Emergency
Providing financial assistance to Colombo, India has announced another USD 1 billion as a credit to Sri Lanka to help shore up the collapsing economy of the island nation. The $1 billion line of credit to Colombo will assist in keeping their food prices and fuel costs under check.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month and updated him on "initiatives being taken by both countries to increase bilateral economic cooperation, and conveyed his thanks for India's support for the Sri Lankan economy."
PM Modi assured Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who has visited India twice in recent months, that India will always stand by the island nation, which plays a key role in New Delhi's "neighbourhood first" policy.
In February, New Delhi gave Colombo a USD 500 million short-term credit for the purchase of petroleum products on behalf of the Sri Lankan government through the Ministry of Energy and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Sri Lanka received 100 tonnes of nano nitrogen liquid fertilisers from India in November 2021, after their government banned the import of chemical fertilisers.
Also Read | Petrol, diesel prices up by 80 paise; 14th hike in 16 days
-PTC News