Severe foreign exchange shortages have left Sri Lanka unable to pay for enough imported food, fuel and medicines to meet demand since late last year, causing widespread hardship.
Its 22 million people have also been forced to endure prolonged daily blackouts and galloping inflation, which strained the household budget.
India has extended $1.5 billion in credit lines to allow Sri Lanka to meet a portion of its food and energy needs, and Friday’s shipment came after a visit by Indian experts for aid talks.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office said after the meeting, “The two sides discussed in detail the future course of action of the Indian aid program to stabilize and revive Sri Lanka’s economy.”
A severe petrol shortage has stagnated Sri Lanka this week, with parliament canceling two days of sittings to help save fuel.
The United Nations appealed for emergency food aid last week after a survey showed that four in five Sri Lankans were giving up food to cope with the crisis.
A US Treasury delegation is expected to arrive in the capital Colombo next week to assess the crisis with the prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Lawmakers said on Wednesday that the country’s economy had reached the point of “complete collapse”.
Sri Lanka has already defaulted on its foreign debt of $51 billion and is in bailout talks with International Monetary FundWhich may take months.