India Delivers 50,000 Tons of Fuel to Sri Lanka to Help Mitigate Economic Crisis

© AP Photo / Eranga JayawardenaSri Lankans gather at a fuel station to buy diesel before the beginning of curfew in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, April 2, 2022.
Sri Lankans gather at a fuel station to buy diesel before the beginning of curfew in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, April 2, 2022.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 02.04.2022
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - India has delivered 40,000 tons of diesel and 6,000 tons of fuel to Sri Lanka amid persisting economic downturn and mounting public discontent in the country, the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka said on Saturday.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a country-wide state of emergency to ensure "public security and maintenance of public order" on Friday, a day after mass protests erupted in Colombo over severe food and fuel shortages in the country.
"More fuel supplies delivered by #India to #SriLanka! A consignment of 40,000 MT [metric tons] of diesel under #Indian assistance through Line of Credit of $500 [million] was handed over by High Commissioner to Hon'ble Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge in #Colombo today," the embassy wrote on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, the subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation supplied 6,000 tons of fuel to the major energy company of Sri Lanka, Ceylon Electricity Board, to ease the energy crisis, the embassy added.
These shipments became the fourth batch delivered under the line of credit opened for Colombo, bringing the total amount of fuel delivered to Sri Lanka from India in the last 50 days to 200,000 tons.
Sri Lanka is now facing the worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by the clampdown on tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. That left the country unable to buy enough fuel, with people facing acute scarcity of food and basic necessities, heating fuel and gas.
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