The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed satisfaction with the government’s recent initiatives to reform Bangladesh’s financial sector, stock market, and efforts to improve the tax-to-GDP ratio, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Monday.
Progress on discussions regarding a potential new loan program has also been highly satisfactory, the minister told reporters at the Secretariat following a meeting with a visiting 11-member IMF delegation led by Bangladesh Mission Chief Ivo Krznar.
“The IMF has positively assessed the economic reform activities initiated by the new political government,” the Finance Minister said, adding that both sides agreed to implement these extensive reforms gradually rather than all at once.
He explicitly clarified, however, that there was no discussion during the meeting regarding a new pay scale for government employees.
Broad Agenda and Future Funding
The high-level meeting covered a comprehensive array of macroeconomic issues. Discussions centered on the current macroeconomic situation, the proposed new loan program, the second Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), the national budget, and revenue collection.
Strategic challenges including banking sector reforms, foreign exchange reserves, subsidies in the power and energy sectors, capacity charges, and financial sector governance were also heavily featured.
While discussions on the new loan package have advanced well, the Finance Minister noted it is too early to specify an exact timeline for when Bangladesh will receive the funds.
“If the IMF’s current assessment remains positive, the delegation will send its recommendations to the headquarters in Washington,” Chowdhury explained. Following that, an IMF delegation led by its Vice President will visit Bangladesh after the IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings, scheduled for October 12–18 in Bangkok, Thailand, to hold formal negotiations.
The process for releasing a potential new loan ranging from $4 billion to $4.5 billion is expected to move forward after those official talks.
Shifting to a New Framework
Bangladesh previously secured a $4.7 billion loan package with the IMF in 2023, which was later expanded to $5.5 billion by the interim government. To date, Bangladesh has received $3.59 billion under that existing program.
However, the current administration maintains that several conditions tied to the previous agreement did not align with public interest. Consequently, the government is steering discussions with the global lender toward a fresh loan program under a newly structured framework.
The 11-member IMF delegation is currently on an official visit to Dhaka until July 16. The team is holding a series of meetings with the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh Bank, and various government departments to review the macroeconomic landscape, ongoing structural reforms, and future financial cooperation.