Colombo/ New Delhi | Jagran New Desk: Sri Lanka is undoubtedly going through its worst economic crisis with prices of essential commodities such as fuel, cooking gas, milk, etc. reaching an all-time. The entire Cabinet of the Sri Lankan government, except Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, have also submitted their resignations, forcing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to call all political parties in the island nation to take up ministerial positions.
With inflation rates crossing the 18 per cent-mark and the continuous shrink in the island nation's foreign exchange reserves, India has stepped in to help Sri Lanka recover from its worst economic crisis. New Delhi has decided to help Colombo with a USD 1 billion credit line to help it procure food, medicines, and other essential items.
"India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka and we will continue to extend all possible support at this juncture. I think we are cognizant of the economic difficulties the country is facing," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.
In February this year, India had extended another USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka to fund its fuel purchases. The Line of Credit (LOC) Agreement was signed between the Export Import Bank (EXIM) of India and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL).
India has also agreed to develop three wind farms in Sri Lanka's Jaffna at a budget of USD 12 billion. Similarly, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has also sent 40,000 MT of diesel to help Sri Lanka deal with the energy crisis.
"These facilities, negotiated and concluded within a matter of weeks, have proved to be the lifeline for the people of Sri Lanka at a time when financing of imports by Sri Lanka is difficult due to the balance of payment situation," Gopal Baglay, India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka told news agency ANI.
"India's prompt assistance for the people of Sri Lanka at this hour has been appreciated by all sections of the Sri Lankan society" the Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka added.