President Gotabaya calls Putin to secure fuel supplies from Russia

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has spoken to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the phone to secure fuel supplies to Colombo from Moscow.

According to SLPP Parliamentarian Mahindananda Aluthgamage, the President is also expected to visit United Arab Emirates (UAE), to discuss fuel supply to Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, discussions are underway with India through the Indian High Commission in Colombo for procuring fuel for the country before July 10, MP Aluthgamage added.

At present, the government is approaching a number of other nations to secure fuel supplies for the country hit by a shortage of foreign exchange.

Two Sri Lankan lawmakers – Minister of Power & Energy Kanchana Wijesekara and Minister of Environment Naseer Ahamed are already in Qatar to procure fuel and to brief Qatari officials on the ongoing crisis situation in the country.

They called on Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi - Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President & CEO of Qatar Energy - to discuss the supply of petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Sri Lanka to overcome the energy crisis with the assistance of the country’s state-owned petroleum company Qatar Energy and The Qatar Development Fund.

Minister Wijesekara also met with the Deputy Director-General of the Qatar Fund for Development for a discussion on a possible credit line facility for petroleum and gas supply to Sri Lanka.

He also held a discussion with Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Abdullah Al-Thani, Qatar’s Minister of Commerce & Industry with regard to investment opportunities in power, energy and other sectors.

The Qatari lawmaker has shared experiences on his country’s development and possibilities of trade between the countries.