Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera has stated to the foreign media that Sri Lanka, in the midst of a financial crisis, is expecting to get a stock of diesel from China. The Minister, who is participating in the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) in Abu Dhabi, has said that Sri Lanka is still facing the challenge of withstanding the change in fuel prices in the world market.
Mr. Wijesekera has said that although financial assistance from petroleum producing countries was expected, Sri Lanka has not received any assistance so far except for the deal with India. It is expected to get a stock of diesel from China by the end of November, the Minister said expressing confidence that it will be possible to meet the diesel requirements for the next few months.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo in a Twitter message states that China has donated a stock of 10.6 million liters of diesel to Sri Lanka. The fuel is to be used to upgrade the livelihood in the most affected sectors of agriculture and fisheries. The shipment of the diesel stock is scheduled at the end of this month or early next month and it will be distributed to the needed as soon as possible, the Embassy said.