CT Information Service
New Delhi, February 2
Sri Lanka on Wednesday signed an settlement with India for a $500 million credit score line to assist finance its gas purchases. The primary tranche can be used to purchase 80,000 tonnes of petrol and diesel from Indian Oil Company (IOC).
India’s assist has come simply when Sri Lanka was confronted with the spectre of dry gas pumps. Its Power {Minister} Udaya Gammanpila had warned of gas shortages because the nation had no cash to pay for not simply oil imports, but additionally medicines and meals. Energy cuts are already the order of the day throughout the island nation as many generators haven’t acquired diesel provides.
Exterior Affairs {Minister} S Jaishankar had, in a letter to his Lankan counterpart GL Peiris on January 18, supplied a brand new line of credit score (LOC) of $500 million to Sri Lanka for the acquisition of petroleum merchandise. It was preceded by a {meeting} between Jaishankar and Sri Lankan Finance {Minister} Basil Rajapaksa.
India is probably going to supply one other $1 billion in credit score facility to Sri Lanka for importing meals, important objects and medicines.
Earlier, it had supplied overseas change help of greater than $900 million.
“These measures are according to India’s dedication to face with Sri Lanka, contribute to its financial progress and impart better momentum to bilateral financial and industrial partnership,” mentioned the Indian Excessive Fee in Colombo in a press release.
Sri Lanka has reciprocated by ending its hesitancy over involving India in a significant manner within the improvement of a Colombo port terminal and the huge petroleum storage services in Trincomalee.
Sri Lanka landed in an unprecedented financial disaster from the dual affect of failure of agriculture crop and the sharp dip in vacationer arrivals.
Power disaster
- The primary tranche can be used to purchase 80,000 tonnes of petrol and diesel from the Indian Oil Company
- The credit score line will ease strain on the nation’s dwindling reserves that had dipped to $3.1 billion by Dec 2021
- EAM S Jaishankar had on Jan 18 supplied a brand new line of credit score of $500 mn to Lanka for purchasing petroleum merchandise
The Chenab Times News Desk