Govt receives $1.28b foreign aid in H1
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
FHM Humayan Kabir
The government received a record $1.28 billion worth of foreign aid in the first half of current fiscal, up $245 million from the same period last year despite the global economic downturn, officials said Monday.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) officials said in July-December period of fiscal 2008-09, the Bangladesh government received $1.035 billion in foreign assistance.
The aid flow during first six months of 2009-10 was boosted by disbursement of $645 million as budgetary support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a senior ERD official told the FE.
The global economic meltdown hit hard the country's external resources flow in the last financial year when the government received a total of $1.3 billion foreign assistance.
"In first six months, we came closer to achieving our foreign aid target of $2.50 billion for the current fiscal. We are hopeful of receiving the remaining amount within the last half," said the ERD official.
He said: "I think the global recession will not affect our external aid flow this year as the donors are still supporting us maintaining their previous commitments as usual."
Many observers including some donors early this fiscal forecast that Bangladesh might not achieve its foreign aid target in the year as the global plunge has hit the donor countries more since early last year.
Out of $1.28 billion aid disbursement, the multilateral and bilateral donors gave Bangladesh $1.10 billion worth of credit and $176 million in grants during July-December period this fiscal, ERD officials said.
Manila-based ADB is on the top of the list in aid disbursement with its total $870 million assistance, which includes $645 million as budgetary support for weathering the impact of the global recession on the Bangladesh's economy.
World Bank disbursed only $214 million aid during July-December period of the current fiscal.
The government received a record $1.28 billion worth of foreign aid in the first half of current fiscal, up $245 million from the same period last year despite the global economic downturn, officials said Monday.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) officials said in July-December period of fiscal 2008-09, the Bangladesh government received $1.035 billion in foreign assistance.
The aid flow during first six months of 2009-10 was boosted by disbursement of $645 million as budgetary support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a senior ERD official told the FE.
The global economic meltdown hit hard the country's external resources flow in the last financial year when the government received a total of $1.3 billion foreign assistance.
"In first six months, we came closer to achieving our foreign aid target of $2.50 billion for the current fiscal. We are hopeful of receiving the remaining amount within the last half," said the ERD official.
He said: "I think the global recession will not affect our external aid flow this year as the donors are still supporting us maintaining their previous commitments as usual."
Many observers including some donors early this fiscal forecast that Bangladesh might not achieve its foreign aid target in the year as the global plunge has hit the donor countries more since early last year.
Out of $1.28 billion aid disbursement, the multilateral and bilateral donors gave Bangladesh $1.10 billion worth of credit and $176 million in grants during July-December period this fiscal, ERD officials said.
Manila-based ADB is on the top of the list in aid disbursement with its total $870 million assistance, which includes $645 million as budgetary support for weathering the impact of the global recession on the Bangladesh's economy.
World Bank disbursed only $214 million aid during July-December period of the current fiscal.