Sri Lanka crisis: Indian Navy delivers first consignment of critical medicine in Colombo

India has been extending financial as well as humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka. According to the Indian Navy, INS Gharial arrived at Colombo today for expeditious delivery of the first consignment of critical medical stores requested by the Government of Sri Lanka. According to reliable sources, India in the last six months has provided assistance on several fronts to its tiny neighbour to tide over its economic crisis, reported the Business Standard.Amid the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, India diverted tonnes of fuel multiple times to the neighbouring country as it was struggling for diesel.Also read: Playing big brother: How India is providing timely aid as Sri Lanka battles its worst economic crisisSri Lanka had announced that it had run out of diesel which affected the transport system and plunging the nation in 13-hour-long blackouts. The lengthy power cuts had also forced the Colombo Stock Exchange to limit its trading by half to two hours, while many offices asked non-essential staff to stay at home.Apart from fuel, India earlier in March also announced a $1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to help the country deal with its economic crisis.After an agreement to extend the line of credit was inked, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka and will continue to extend all possible support to the country.“India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka and we will continue to extend all possible support at this juncture. I think we are cognizant of the economic difficulties the country is facing,” Bagchi said.The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance in the presence of Rajapaksa, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.In February, India extended a USD 500 million line of credit to Sri Lanka to help it purchase petroleum products as the island nation has been reeling under a severe foreign exchange and energy crisis.Meanwhile, India has also been sending medicines to Sri Lanka amid the crisis.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.