DHAKA, Nov 10 (NNN-BSS) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF), confirmed yesterday that, it had reached a staff-level agreement with Bangladesh, that paves the way for the release of the much-awaited 4.5 billion U.S. dollars, in loan support.
Rahul Anand, who led an IMF team mission to visit Dhaka, from Oct 26 to yesterday, made the announcement, saying, the staff-level agreement is subject to IMF management approval and executive board endorsement, which is expected in the coming weeks.
Officials said, the IMF funds will be divided between the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
“The Bangladeshi authorities and the IMF team have reached a staff-level agreement to support the authorities’ reform policies, under a new 42-month ECF/EFF arrangement of about 3.2 billion U.S. dollars (SDR 2.5 billion, equivalent of 231.4 percent of quota), and a concurrent RSF arrangement of about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars (SDR 1 billion, equivalent of 93.8 percent of quota),” Anand was quoted as saying, in a statement yesterday.
He said, Bangladesh’s robust economic recovery from the pandemic has been interrupted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, leading to a sharp widening of current account deficit, rapid decline of foreign exchange reserves, rising inflation and slowing growth.
According to the official, the new ECF/EFF arrangement is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and preventing disruptive adjustments to protect the vulnerable, while promoting structural change to support strong, inclusive and green growth.
“We’re getting the loan exactly as we asked for it. All the processes regarding this loan will be completed within the next three months,” Bangladeshi Finance Minister, AHM Mustafa Kamal told journalists yesterday.– NNN-BSS
