Page 8 - AsianOil Week 28 2022

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Former Sri Lankan
President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa resigned on
July 14.

Fuel supplies start to arrive in Sri Lanka

PERFORMANCE SUPPLIES of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transportation have been difficult to come by.
have started to arrive in Sri Lanka, according The situation has led to violence in the streets.
to media reports from the country. While the The presidential palace was overrun by protest-
deliveries may provide some limited and short- ers and Rajapaksa and members of his family fled
term relief for the crisis-stricken country, they the country to the Maldives. He subsequently
are hardly enough to put Sri Lanka back on track travelled to Singapore, from where he resigned
to economic and political recovery. in a letter sent by email to parliamentary speaker
The first shipment of 3,700 tonnes of LPG Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenena. His departure
arrived on July 10, while another of 3,740 tonnes ends the rule of a family dynasty that has dom- Towards the end
was due on July 12, and a third cargo of 3,200 inated Sri Lanka’s politics for the past 20 years.
tonnes was scheduled for July 15. Officials in Rajapaksa’s brother Basil, a former finance of the month,
Colombo announced that shipments of liquid minister, is said to have fled to the US. The
fuels such as diesel and crude oil would be deliv- whereabouts of two other brothers, Mahinda more shipments
ered in the coming days. Towards the end of the and Chamal, are unknown. Mahinda served
month, more shipments of gas are also scheduled as prime minister until May 2021. Prime Min- of gas are also
to arrive. ister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of scheduled to
It was reported in early July that then-Sri Lan- emergency and subsequently became Sri Lanka’s
kan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa – who sub- acting President after Rajapaksa stepped down. arrive.
sequently resigned on July 14 – had discussed Falling foreign reserves have brought months
buying oil from Russia at discounted prices with of shortages in fuel and food supplies to Sri
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Considering Lanka, but years of financial mismanagement
the current circumstances, it is unlikely that any- have exacerbated the economic problems. The
thing further will come from that conversation. coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic posed a
Turmoil has swept through Colombo and huge problem for the country, which relies on
other parts of the country as the economy tourism for a huge part of its foreign revenue.
has collapsed. Government policies and alle- Tourism was also damaged by several bombs tar-
gations of corruption among the Rajapaksa geting Christian locations on the island in 2019.
family have left Sri Lanka without fuels, The country is estimated to have a foreign
medicines and other imported essentials. debt of $51bn. Neighbouring India is reported to
Power outages have forced schools and state- be willing to contribute $3.8bn to help Sri Lanka
run offices to close. Foodstuffs and fuel for and the World Bank is promising $600mn.™

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