Sri Lanka seeks Indian Bank’s help to clear its crude cargo
The Sri Lankan government has
sought the assistance of an Indian Bank to open a Letter of Credit to pay 72
million US dollars for a shipment of crude oil berthed off the Colombo port, an
informed source was quoted by a Colombo based newspaper.
That has been done since the
state banks in the island nation are not in a position to open Letters of
Credit. The source said assistance was sought from an Indian Bank, the report
said without disclosing the identity of the bank.
We
will pay the Indian bank after 90 days
We will pay the Indian bank
after 90 days,” the source said. Once the shipment is cleared, it was to be
unloaded to the Sapugaskanda oil refinery facility.
This facility is in addition
to the 500 million US dollars credit line offered by India to import
fuel.
India has already given assistance to the tune
of three billion US dollars during the last two months. It has given two
consignments of petrol and diesel for crisis driven Sri Lankan economy.
India provides liberal assistance to neighborhood
countries especially Sri Lanka under the present government’s neighborhood
first policy.
