NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka, suffering a critical fuel shortage, needs US$554 million for its June energy imports and is in talks with India for a new credit line.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said on Monday he met Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and discussed the forex requirements of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).
“Total requirement for June imports will be US$554 million. US$100 million will be facilitated through the existing Indian credit line,“ he said in a social media post.
Wijesekera said a new US$500 million Indian credit line is under discussion.
Sri Lanka, in the midst of its unprecedented economic crisis, has received Indian financial support in the form of flexible loans.
The Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda, on Friday had a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss further help.
The meeting “explored the possibility of increasing and restructuring the assistance provided by India in the form of credits for essential commodities and fuel as well as balance of payment support,“ the Sri Lankan diplomatic mission in New Delhi said in a statement.
Sri Lanka is also seeking money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
An IMF team led by Peter Breuer and Masahiro Nozaki last week concluded a virtual mission with the Sri Lankan authorities.
In its statement after the May 9-24 talks, the IMF expressed serious concern about the financial situation in the country.
The discussions covered “a comprehensive reform package to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability”.
The IMF stated since Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by its executive board of a package for Sri Lanka “would require adequate assurances that debt sustainability will be restored.” - Bernama