Sri Lanka has once again underlined India’s support during its worst economic crisis in independent history.
Sri Lanka’s Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that India was the only country that had provided a credit line to Colombo.
He said his country had made requests for fuel to different countries. “So, any country that comes to help us, we appreciate that. Right now, the Indian government is the only country that has provided us with a credit line,” Wijesekera said while speaking to ANI.
The minister said Sri Lanka is in discussion with the Russian government as well. “The initial meetings have taken place in Russia. We have given our requirements and we are working on it. We are waiting to hear what sort of facility will be accommodated,” he said.
Sri Lanka is running short of essential items - like fuel, cooking gas, and food items - as it does not have enough forex reserves to import. As the crisis worsened in Sri Lanka, India rushed consignments containing humanitarian assistance. The Indian MEA recently informed that India has so far given an assistance of over USD 3.8 billion for ameliorating the serious economic situation in Sri Lanka.
New Delhi’s assistance has been in the form of currency swaps, deferment of repayment of Sri Lanka’s liabilities to the Reserve Bank of India under the Asian Clearing Union mechanism, and credit assistance of more than USD 1.5 billion for fuel, food, medicines, fertilizers, and other essential commodities.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya recently praised India for its help to Colombo. He said: “As a neighbour and a big brother of our country, India has always helped us. We are grateful to the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For us, it is not easy to survive because of the current scenario. We hope to come out of this with the help of India and other countries.”
Source: Times Now News
--Agencies
