Sitharaman assures Lankan counterpart of all possible assistance from India

Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, met with her Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry and promised him that, as a close friend and good neighbour, India will do everything possible to help the island nation navigate through its worst economic crisis.

Sri Lanka, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, is experiencing unparalleled economic turbulence, the worst since the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.

Ms. Sitharaman, who is in town for the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, spoke about the present economic crisis in Sri Lanka and India's strategy for tackling the country's problems.

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.

With the island nation facing an economic crisis and a currency shortage, an Indian credit line of US$ 500 million for fuel imports provided a lifeline.

Following a previous US$ 500 billion line of credit in February to help Sri Lanka purchase petroleum goods, India recently announced the extension of a US$ 1 billion line of credit as part of its financial support to the country to deal with the economic crisis.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.