IMF assures raising budgetary support

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday assured Bangladesh of providing increased budgetary supports to help revive its economy from the political shock, officials have said.

At a virtually held meeting, IMF Mission Chief for Bangladesh, Chris Papageorgiou, gave the assurance, to Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed as the new interim government sought increased support to bring back macroeconomic stability.

Central bank governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur last week told the BBC that he was in talks with the IMF for additional $3.0 billion loan, as increased financial support is needed to recover from the losses incurred from the recent political upheaval.

IMF will review the reform progress in the first week of October when an IMF team visits Bangladesh, sources said.

The IMF extended $4.7 billion loan facility to Bangladesh in January last year to help support the dwindling economy, which has been facing severe crises since war broke out in Ukraine in 2022.

However, the macro economy of the country is still facing severe turbulence prompting the interim government to seek $3.0 billion more from the IMF as budget support.

[email protected]