The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday concluded its discussions with the government of Bangladesh on the disbursement of $1 billion under a $4.7 billion loan programme.
The IMF mission that arrived in the capital Dhaka on April 6 for the parleys will brief the media about the outcomes today.
The discussions were concluded with a wrap-up meeting with finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed at his secretariat office in the capital Dhaka in the afternoon on Wednesday.
Officials attending the meeting said that they were optimistic about the disbursement of the fund in the fourth and fifth tranches of the loan by the IMF in June.
They said that differences on revenue-related issues between the two sides were worked out with this IMF mission.
The other pending issues are likely to be resolved in the forthcoming spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, added the officials.
The finance adviser is expected to attend the spring meetings of the WB and the IMF to be taken place from April 21 to April 26 in Washington.
So far, the IMF has released three tranches of the loan, including the opening one under the current loan programme that was taken in 2023 by the ousted Awami League regime against the backdrop of balance of payment crisis pulling down the country鈥檚 foreign exchange reserve to about $20 billion in 2024 from $48 billion in 2021.
In the three tranches Bangladesh has received $2.3 billion under the loan programme amid a serious shortage of dollars.
However, the interim government that assumed power on August 8, 2024, deferred the release of the fourth tranche, which was due in March, after consultations with the Washington-based multilateral lender.
On March 25, finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed expected that the IMF would disburse more than $1 billion with the fourth and fifth tranches in June.
In June 2024, the IMF released $1.15 billion in the third tranche.
While releasing the loan, the IMF said that fiscal consolidation should prioritise the swift implementation of additional revenue measures, such as removing tax exemptions while restraining non-essential spending.
Coupled with monetary tightening, greater exchange rate flexibility and safeguarding foreign exchange reserve buffers would strengthen the economy鈥檚 resilience to external shocks, added the IMF.
