Sri Lanka has turned to India for help as fuel supplies came under strain due to the West Asia conflict.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week about the disruptions. Soon after, an emergency shipment reached Colombo.
Around 38,000 metric tonnes of fuel, 20,000 MT diesel and 18,000 MT petrol, arrived on Saturday through Indian Oil Corporation’s Sri Lankan unit, Lanka IOC.
“Spoke with PM @narendramodi a few days ago about the fuel supply disruptions Sri Lanka is facing due to the Middle East conflict. Grateful for India’s swift support. 38,000 MT of fuel arrived in Colombo yesterday,” Dissanayake posted on social media.
He also thanked external affairs minister S. Jaishankar. “My thanks also to EAM @DrSJaishankar for his close coordination”, he said.
Sri Lanka had earlier reached out to Jaishankar seeking support on energy supplies as the situation in West Asia worsened.
The shortage began after Lanka IOC struggled to source fuel from suppliers in the Middle East and Singapore, forcing it to seek urgent supplies from India. To prevent panic buying, the government introduced a fuel quota from March 15.
Authorities have also taken action against hoarding, with cases filed in different parts of the country. The energy ministry has said current stocks should last till the end of May.