Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe has said that Sri Lankans living abroad should help the country at this critical juncture when foreign exchange is in high demand in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan government is struggling to cope with the economic crisis. People are suffering as the prices of essential commodities, including medicines, continue to rise.
The measures taken by the Sri Lankan government to resolve the economic crisis have not borne fruit. Following this, the Sri Lankan government requested a loan assistance from India. Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa arrived in India and met Prime Minister Modi.
Following this, India announced a loan assistance of Rs 7,600 crore to Sri Lanka. Accordingly 40 tons of diesel was shipped to Sri Lanka. India also sent more rice.
The day before yesterday, India supplied 11,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka. Rice was shipped on the occasion of the Sinhala New Year.
Meanwhile, India-supplied diesel is running out fast and there is a possibility of another shortage this May.
Thus the Sri Lankan government decided to borrow again from India. Recently, Sri Lankan Ambassador to India Mrinda Moragoda met Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
It examined the status of India-Sri Lanka economic cooperation.
In this context, Sri Lanka has asked India to provide a further loan of US $ 2 billion (Rs. 15,200 crore in Indian currency). It has been reported that India, which is considering the request, has decided to provide the loan requested by Sri Lanka.
India is taking various measures to prevent Chinese domination in Sri Lanka. In this, India is helping to resolve the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
A senior government official said, “It is worrying that Sri Lanka is now asking for time to repay the loans it has taken from abroad. But they can still borrow up to $ 2 billion. ” said.
With this, India is expected to provide the Rs 15,200 crore requested by Sri Lanka soon.
India has so far lent about Rs 14,000 crore to Sri Lanka in loans for essential commodities, fuel and currency. China has provided Rs 21,000 crore to Sri Lanka.
It is noteworthy that the Sri Lankan government had yesterday announced that the loans obtained from abroad could not be repaid at present and should be given a grace period.
Meanwhile, Sinhala leaders have demanded that foreign Tamils provide financial assistance. Sri Lankans living abroad have also called for funding to help address food and fuel shortages in the country.
Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said, “Sri Lankans living abroad need to help the country at this crucial time when Sri Lanka is in dire need of foreign exchange.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries