3 min readNew DelhiMar 29, 2026 04:21 AM IST
In a significant outreach, India has sent a shipment of fuel to Sri Lanka, days after the phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Fuel shortage and panic buying have led to queues in the island nation, which depends on imports for its energy demand.
“…A shipment of 38,000 MT (metric tonnes) of petroleum, of which 20,000 MT is diesel and 18,000 MT petrol, has arrived in Colombo today 28th March, 2026,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement.
“Lanka IOC had earlier secured fuel supplies for March from the Middle East and Singapore. However, suppliers with whom the contracts were placed, expressed their inability to deliver the product and invoked force majeure, in view of supply disruptions and vessel unavailability due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” it said.
“Due to the above disruptions, rescue supplies were requested from India from IOCL. The current shipment of 38,000 MT is part of these supplies. Government of India, through Lanka IOC, has extended support to Sri Lanka for maintaining continuity of fuel supply,” it said.
According to experts, the shipment can help fuel 800,000-1 million vehicles, assuming an average tank capacity of 45-60 litres.
On March 23, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a telephone conversation with his Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath. This was followed by Dissanayake’s phone call to Modi the next day, where the leaders discussed the evolving situation in West Asia.
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“Spoke with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and discussed the evolving situation in West Asia, with particular focus on disruptions affecting global energy security,” Modi had said later. He had said that they reviewed the progress on key initiatives aimed at strengthening India-Sri Lanka energy cooperation and enhancing regional security.
As close and trusted partners, “we reaffirmed our commitment to work closely together in addressing shared challenges”, he had said.
The PMO had said that Modi reiterated India’s firm commitment to work closely together in addressing shared challenges in line with India’s Neighbourhood First policy and MAHASAGAR Vision. “The two leaders reviewed progress on various initiatives aimed at strengthening India-Sri Lanka energy cooperation and enhancing regional security,” it had said.
The outreach is reminiscent of Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic crisis, when India had extended about US$ 4 billion in debt relief, currency swaps, loans and grants.
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India has also received requests for supply of oil from Bangladesh and the Maldives, which it is currently examining. “We have received requests from several of our neighbours, and we are working on them and presently supplying their needs or whatever energy requirements they have to them, while keeping in mind our own energy requirements, our availability and our refining capacity,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said on Friday.
