India, March 30 -- Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday expressed gratitude to India for supplying 38,000 metric tonnes of fuel to the crisis-hit island nation amid ongoing disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East.

Following a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dissanayake on March 24, a shipment comprising 20,000 MT of diesel and 18,000 MT of petrol arrived in Colombo on March 28.

"Due to the above disruptions, rescue supplies were requested from India through IOCL," the statement said.

It added that the current shipment forms part of these emergency supplies, with the Government of India, through Lanka IOC, extending support to ensure continuity of fuel availability in Sri Lank...