Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Saturday chaired a Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting on the situation in Sri Lanka and said there was “unanimous support” on the need to stand with the neighbouring country in this hour of crisis.
He also posted pictures with MPs who attended the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on External Affairs. Ministers of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, Meenakshi Lekhi and Rajkumar Ranjan Singh also attended the meeting.
Opposition Leaders such as Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and DMK’s Tiruchi Siva also attended.
Dr. S. Jaishankar chaired a Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting on the situation in Sri Lanka.”A good discussion was held in a positive atmosphere on various issues and India’s role,” Jaishankar said adding, “Unanimous support on the need to stand with our neighbour in this difficult time.”
Sri Lanka has been facing an economic crisis which has caused an acute shortage of essential items such as food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the island nation.
The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly US$ 7 billion foreign debt repayment due this year of about US$ 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt stands at US$ 51 billion.
The Indian Credit Lines since January this year have provided a lifeline to Sri Lanka amid growing public dissent over the worsening economic conditions.
On Friday, the Government ordered public sector employees to work from home for two weeks due to severe fuel shortages.
Sri Lanka is facing a problem in getting foreign exchange to pay for fuel imports, and its existing stock of petrol and diesel is set to run out over the next few days.
“Taking into consideration the severe limits on fuel supply, the weak public transport system and the difficulty in using private vehicles this circular allows minimal staff to report to work from Monday,” the Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry stated on Friday.
Last week, the Government also approved a four-day work week for public sector workers to help them cope with a chronic fuel shortage and encourage them to grow food. - Times Now, NDTV