Bangladesh Bank spokesman said during meeting IMF inquired about the country’s economic challenges. Representational Image. AP.
Dhaka: The Bangladesh central bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has discussed measures to tackle the economic challenges in the country.
IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette M. Sayeh said Bangladesh, like other countries, is dealing with the impact of global shocks – first from the Covid-19 pandemic and then from the ongoing Ukraine war.
“We discussed the impact of these shocks on Bangladesh’s economy, and I welcomed Bangladesh’s comprehensive set of measures to deal with them – including their focus on ensuring protection for the vulnerable during these difficult times,” Sayeh said.
During the meeting, challenges faced in the upcoming monetary policy was also discussed. Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque told reporters, “The IMF has a proposal for climate financing with us. They asked us about our future plans and we have outlined our steps before them.”
Haque said Bangladesh highlighted capacity building jointly with the government, and the IMF showed interest in assisting the effort.
The Bangladesh Bank spokesperson said that during the meeting, IMF inquired about the country’s economic challenges to which they said: “We [Bangladesh Bank] have been working with liquidity and foreign exchange management for a long time. Besides, we informed them how we are managing everything in the current global context.”
Sayeh in a release said that during the meeting, IMF and Bangladesh discussed the country’s plans to address the longer-term challenges related to climate change that could threaten macroeconomic stability. “The IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) aims to provide affordable, long-term financing to support Bangladesh’s climate investment needs, catalyze climate financing, and reduce balance of payment pressures from import-intensive climate investment,” she said.
Bangladesh and the IMF recently reached a staff-level agreement under the Extended Credit Facility, Extended Fund Facility, and the IMF’s new RSF, to support the authorities’ home-grown reform agenda.
“In our discussion, we focused on the key elements of this program, including the long-standing challenges of raising tax revenues, and building a more efficient financial sector. Reforms in these areas, combined with measures to facilitate private investments and export diversification will help create conditions to make Bangladesh’s economy more resilient and support long-term, inclusive and sustainable growth,” Sayeh said.
For the unversed, Bangladesh wrote to the IMF in July 2022, seeking for a loan of $4.5 billion. Then from 26 October to 9 November last year, an IMF delegation led by IMF Mission Chief to Bangladesh Rahul Anand held a series of meetings with various government bodies.
The IMF Executive Board is expected to consider approving the program with Bangladesh on 30 January, Sayeh said.
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