India has agreed to provide 40,000 tonnes of diesel to Sri Lanka in response to a request from the island nation, which is experiencing a severe scarcity of fuel. The government of Sri Lanka has deployed army to monitor the distribution of fuel following a severe shortage.
An Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) executive had previously assured the media that the business would deliver fuel under a $500 million line of credit extended to Sri Lanka for fuel purchases by the Indian government. As per the statement, officials are coordinating to tackle concerns such as shipping facilities, citing a government official.
On Thursday, people familiar with the situation stated that the state-run Indian Oil Corporation is anticipated to deliver 40,000 tonnes of fuel to Sri Lanka soon. In addition to the seven monthly shipments of gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel completed in February under the line of credit for purchasing petroleum goods.
On February 2, the Export-Import Bank of India and the Sri Lankan government signed a deal for a $500 million line of credit to purchase petroleum products from India. In response to Colombo’s pressing needs, India extended support for petroleum imports, addressed in a virtual conference between India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar and Sri Lanka’s finance minister Basil Rajapaksa on January 15.
Sri Lanka received a $1 billion short-term concessional loan from India on March 17 to help it deal with one of its biggest economic crises in decades. The State Bank of India’s line of credit is utilized to import food, medicines, and other necessities from India.
Since December, Rajapaksa signed the deal for this line of credit during his second visit to India. During a meeting with Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India “will continue to stand with the friendly people of Sri Lanka.”