Sri Lanka on Wednesday signed an agreement with India for a $500 million credit line to help finance its fuel purchases. The first tranche will be used to buy 80,000 tonnes of petrol and diesel from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
India’s help has come just when Sri Lanka was faced with the spectre of dry fuel pumps. Its Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila had warned of fuel shortages as the country had no money to pay for not just oil imports, but also medicines and food. Power cuts are already the order of the day across the island nation as many turbines have not received diesel supplies.
