The government received a total of $3.89 billion in foreign aid in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, marking a 19.07 per cent decline from $4.81 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to the latest report of the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
The March issue of the Foreign Assistance Monthly Report FY2025-26, released by the ERD on Thursday, said disbursements fell by $916.97 million during the July-March period, while fresh aid commitments from development partners also declined by about $201.16 million over the same period.
Despite the drop in disbursements and commitments, the cost of debt servicing rose to $3.53 billion, up by 9.74 per cent, the report said.
Interest payments increased by 3.96 per cent in the first nine months, while repayments of principal rose by 13.19 per cent.
In terms of local currency, the total debt service cost increased by 11.32 per cent, with principal repayments rising by 14.85 per cent and interest payments by 5.42 per cent.
The report showed that of the total $3.89 billion disbursed, $385.1 million came as grants and $3.51 billion as loans. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, disbursements stood at $4.81 billion, including $332.95 million in grants and $4.48 billion in loans.
New aid commitments amounted to $2.80 billion during the period, comprising $153.35 million in grants and $2.65 billion in loans.
In comparison, the ERD had signed aid agreements worth $3.01 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, including $335.92 million in grants and $2.67 billion in loans.
Overall, aid commitments dropped by $201.16 million, or 6.69 per cent.
Data showed that Russia emerged as the largest source of disbursement at $828.38 million, followed by the International Development Association (IDA) with $764.56 million and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at $607.6 million.
Other major contributors included China ($521.24 million), Japan ($312.85 million) and India ($240.84 million), while the "Others" category accounted for $574.46 million.
Disbursement from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) remained relatively low at $41.92 million, indicating that a few major partners dominate actual fund releases despite broader commitments. In terms of new commitments, the ADB was the largest contributor at $1.27 billion, accounting for nearly half of the total.
The "Others" category followed with $882.47 million, while the World Bank's IDA committed $416.25 million and China pledged $235.69 million.
No new commitments were recorded from Russia, Japan, India or the AIIB during the period, indicating a concentration of financing among a few key development partners.
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