Sri Lanka crisis: PM Ranil welcomes ex-Maldivian President to assist in relief efforts

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday welcomed former Maldivian President and Parliamentary speaker Mohamed Nasheed to coordinate the relief efforts for the island nation mired in economic and political crises. PM Ranil appointed his long-time friend Nasheed after the leaders engaged in a comprehensive meeting on May 19. According to Sri Lankan media reports, Nasheed has promised to "do everything to assist the people" of Sri Lanka.  

The offer to secure relief efforts from foreign nations for Sri Lanka was forwarded by Mohamed Nasheed, which Wickremesinghe accepted, the Sri Lankan PM's office said in a statement. It is pertinent to mention that Nasheed has lived in Sri Lanka in exile for a long time now and maintained close links with Colombo. He is a strong advocate of human rights and democracy and a campaigner for environmental issues.

Colombo 'has no money to buy petrol': Sri Lankan Energy Minister

Sri Lankan Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera on Wednesday revealed that the crisis-hit nation is on the edge of running out of petrol reserves and has "no money" to revive its stock. Although two petrol-laden vessels are anchored off the Colombo port for at least two months, the country does not have foreign exchange reserves to pay for it as the economic situation dwindled. Confirming the lack of petrol availability, The Sri Lankan MP further urged exasperated citizens "not to wait in line" outside gas stations for fuel.

The Lankan government urged citizens to avoid queues outside petrol pumps. "We are requesting people not to wait in line for fuel. There is no issue with diesel. But please do not stay in line for petrol. We have limited stocks of petrol and are trying to distribute it accordingly for essential services, especially ambulances," the minister said while issuing a warning against stockpiling fuel. Wijesekera informed that Colombo will take three more days to complete the distribution of petrol to fill all stations after the ministry identified 37 viable ways to do so, however, there is no chance to import fresh stocks without opening a letter of credit, he concluded. 

Sri Lanka crisis

For months, Sri Lanka is reeling under a crippling economic downturn resulting from the confluence of ill-managed government funds, a pandemic that battered revenue from tourism, and rising oil and energy prices. Besides the external factors, domestic issues like populist tax deductions by the Rajapaksa brothers, heavily subsidized domestic fuel prices, and the decision to suspend fertiliser import devasted the crucial agricultural sector in Sri Lanka leading 22 million people in the country to an extreme shortage of basic supplies. The island nation now has an outstanding foreign debt of $51 billion.

(Image: AP)