A Cabinet sub-committee has been appointed on June 23 to study the current situation in the Middle East.

Chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment & Tourism – Vijitha Herath, the ministers Wasantha Samarasinghe, Kumara Jayakody and Samantha Vidyarathna have been named as the other committee members.

Additionally, a committee of ministry secretaries have been appointed.

Meanwhile, speaking to media, Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure – Samantha Vidyarathna has said that the Government will take all possible measures to minimise the impact that the Israel-Iran conflict will have on local businesses, the country’s economy and the daily lives of all Sri Lankans.

A number of decisions have been taken at the Cabinet meeting held on June 23.

The decisions taken by the Cabinet of Ministers are as follows :

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has assured that there will be no fuel shortage in the country under any circumstances.

 According to the CPC Chairman – D.J. Rajakaruna, the CPC has already placed and confirmed orders for the fuel required for the next 02 months and there is absolutely no reason to anticipate a fuel shortage in the country.

He said however there are concerns about where the fuel shipments will originate from and whether there is an impact due to the war.

Rajakaruna also warned that legal action would be taken against those found hoarding fuel illegally.

According to CPC data, the majority of Octane 92 petrol is sourced from Malaysia, Singapore, or India, and not from conflict zones in the Middle East, with only one shipment expected from Oman, CPC Chairman said.

He further noted that even in the event of the Strait of Hormuz being closed, the CPC has alternative supply routes in place. Diesel stocks are also sourced from non-conflict zones, he added.