Strain in Lanka-China ties, India steps in, delivers nano fertiliser

New Delhi, November 5

Sri Lanka’s antagonism with China, blaming it for its economic collapse, has opened a window of opportunity for India which has lost little time in engaging Colombo. India airlifted 100 tonnes of nano nitrogen liquid fertiliser on Diwali after the devastation of Sri Lanka’s crop allegedly due to harmful bacteria caused by China-supplied bio-fertilisers.

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner here met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this week as Colombo also seeks to avert a financial crisis by seeking a $500 million loan.

While Indian Air Force planes delivered fertilisers on Diwali in response to an SOS from Sri Lanka, the Union Finance and External Affairs Ministries are engaged in framing a financial relief package that intersects with New Delhi’s interests.

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis began when it had decided in April to completely shift to organic fertilisers, some of it domestic, instead of depending entirely on imported chemical fertilisers in order to save $400 million. Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapkasa now claims that the problem was caused by Chinese bio-fertilisers, which contained bacteria that destroyed the crop. — TNS