Senior US officials visit Sri Lanka to help resolve crisis

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Senior U.S. officials have arrived in Sri Lanka to find ways to help the island nation in the throes of an unprecedented economic crisis and severe shortages of essential supplies. The energy minister has warned in a tweet that new fuel shipments would be delayed and people shouldn’t be lining up at pump stations. The U.S. over the past two weeks has announced millions of dollars in assistance to Sri Lanka, which has been surviving on $4 billion in credit lines from neighboring India. It also has received pledges of $300 million to $600 million from the World Bank to buy medicine and other items. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week announced the economy had “collapsed” due to dwindling foreign exchange reserves and a mounting debt.