IMF Discusses $1.3 Billion Loan Release with PM Tarique Rahman

Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund, Krishna Srinivasan, met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday to discuss the release of $1.3 billion in IMF loans.

The amount combines the pending December tranche with the next scheduled instalment. Finance ministry officials said disbursement could occur by June, subject to successful talks and the BNP-led government’s adherence to IMF conditions.

Key conditions include revenue mobilisation, restructuring of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), granting greater independence to Bangladesh Bank, and adopting a fully market-based exchange rate. Bangladesh has so far received $3.64 billion of the $5.5 billion IMF programme, signed in January 2023 and extended last June with an additional $800 million.

The meeting follows Bangladesh’s request for $2 billion in additional financial support from the IMF, World Bank, and other agencies to cover fuel import needs amid global energy disruptions.