India Sends 40,000 MT of Diesel to Crisis-Hit Sri Lanka

India announced on Tuesday that it had sent another shipment of 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel to Sri Lanka to help alleviate the island nation's acute fuel shortfall in the midst of its worst economic crisis. Last month, India offered an additional USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka to assist the neighboring country in importing petroleum after its Foreign Exchange Reserves plunged drastically in recent times, prompting a devaluation of its currency and spiralling inflation.

On May 23, India sent approximately 40,000 metric tonnes of petrol to Sri Lanka. "Powering #SriLanka !!!! A shipment of 40,000 MT of diesel supplied under #Indian assistance reached #Colombo yesterday (Monday) evening," the Indian High Commission tweeted. On February 2, 2022, India and Sri Lanka inked a USD 500 million Line of Credit Agreement for the purchase of petroleum products.

With the economic crisis and currency shortages, India's $500 million credit line for petroleum imports has provided a lifeline to the island nation, which is currently undergoing its greatest economic crisis since achieving independence in 1948. The population has been suffering for months due to long queues for fuel, cooking gas, staples in short supply, and long hours of power outages.