Indian External Minister S Jaishankar and Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa held a telephonic conversation and the former assured that New Delhi will continue to assist the island country which has been going through perhaps its worst economic crises.

The Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted on Monday that two ministers had “productive and cordial telephonic” talks. 

“EAM (Jaishankar) assured that India will continue to support Sri Lanka in all possible ways,” reads the tweet.. They agreed to finalize a mutually convenient date in the second half of this month for the visit of Basil Rajapaksa. 

Sri Lanka has been going through multiple interlinked crises, primarily caused by the shortage of foreign exchange reserves. The government is struggling to import fuel and other essentials, forcing authorities to ration both power and fuel. 

India has so far announced assistance worth $2.4 billion, including a $500 million line of credit for fuel purchase, to Sri Lanka. During the upcoming visit of Basil, Sri Lanka and India are likely to sign an agreement for a $1 billion line of credit.

Sri Lanka has been implementing power cuts as long as 10 hours in a day— a first in the last 35 years for the country. Over  60 percent of the country’s, bakeries, hotels, and restaurants have shut down operations  due to the energy crisis, the Daily Mirror said.

Manufacturing and tourism industries have been warning the government of severe repercussions of the same power crisis. 

“Today we are dealing with a toxic combination, a power, and a fuel crisis. This puts all the industries in a very tight corner because you can be ready for some, but for others, you cannot,” said Hemas Holdings Executive Director/Hemas FMCG Managing Director Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne, was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror. 

(SAM)