India rushes food, medicine to bankrupt Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, June 24 (AFP) : Sri Lanka accepted a rice and pharmaceuticals shipment from neighbouring India Friday as the island nation battles an unprecedented economic crisis that has left supermarket shelves and pharmacy cabinets empty.

A critical shortage of foreign currency has left Sri Lanka unable to pay for enough imported food, fuel and medicines to meet demand since the end of last year, causing widespread hardship.

Its 22 million people have also been forced to endure prolonged daily blackouts and galloping inflation that has strained household budgets. India has extended $1.5 billion in credit lines to allow Sri Lanka to keep meeting a portion of its food and energy needs, and Friday's shipment followed a visit by Indian experts for aid talks.

"Both parties discussed at length the future course of action of the Indian aid programme to stabilise and revive the Sri Lankan economy," Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office said after the meeting.