IMF satisfied with Bangladesh’s proactive economic management: BB

The IMF meeting with the central bank included a number of topics such as challenges to be faced in the upcoming monetary policy, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque told reporters following the meeting.

He said the meeting also discussed measures by the central bank and the government to tackle the economic challenges. 

"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."

The Bangladesh Bank spokesperson said they also highlighted capacity building jointly with the government, and the IMF showed interest in assisting the effort. 

Mezbaul Haque said the Washington-based lender inquired about Bangladesh's economic challenges.  

"We [Bangladesh Bank] told them that we 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," he added.

Noting that financial sector reforms were not on the table, the spokesperson said that the bilateral meeting did not have any talk on the prospective loan either. 

"This meeting was not about any specific issue. Their lending process will proceed as usual," he added. The central bank official expected that the loan will be finalised at the IMF board meeting on 31 January.

In July last year, Bangladesh wrote to the IMF asking 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.

In a meeting with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Sunday, IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Monsio Sayeh expressed satisfaction with the various initiatives taken by the government and the Bangladesh Bank to deal with the ongoing economic crisis.

The recent dynamics of the global economy and the ongoing economic situation of Bangladesh were discussed in detail at the meeting held at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka. 

The initiatives the developing and emerging economies should focus on to cope with global inflation, rising interest rates and the Russia-Ukraine War were also discussed in the meeting.

Mentioning Bangladesh's next goal to become an upper-middle income country by 2031 and a smart and developed one by 2041, the finance minister said, "We need to ensure adequate mobilisation of internal and external resources to achieve our development goals. 

"In this regard, we seek the cooperation of our development partners."

Kamal expressed satisfaction that the IMF initially agreed to provide a loan of $4.5 billion as requested by the Bangladesh government. 

He also thanked the IMF for supporting the reforms proposed by the government in this loan programme.

BB Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Fatima Yasmin, Secretary of Economic Relations Department Sharifa Khan, Secretary of Financial Institutions Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah and Secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Division Dr Md Khairuzzaman Majumder and other senior officers also attended the meeting.