Indian Oil Corp. to help aggregate small island countries’ petroleum fuel demand

New Delhi: In what will project India’ presence among the small island countries, state run Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC) will aggregate the petroleum fuel demand of such nations, thereby bringing down their fuel import costs and help with their energy security efforts.

IOC, the country’s largest oil refiner has been asked by International Solar Alliance (ISA) to study the petroleum imports of 37 small island countries, said ISA Director General Upendra Tripathy.

This comes in the backdrop of ISA becoming a significant foreign policy tool for New Delhi even as China attempts to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative. As many as 88 countries have signed the ISA framework agreement, and 70 have ratified it.