Bangladesh is likely to ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to expedite its $4.5 billion loan, which is promised to be disbursed within the next three years, officials said on Friday.
The IMF-World Bank (WB) annual meeting will be held in Washington, DC from October 10-16. A Bangladesh delegation will request that the loan be confirmed there.
The team will likely be led by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal. Governor of the Bangladesh Bank Abdur Rouf Talukder will attend the meeting with the secretary of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Economic Relations Division (ERD), as well as a few other senior officials.
The IMF-guaranteed $4.5 billion loan will most likely be given to the nation over three years, with $1.5 billion per year.
On the sidelines of the IMF-WB meeting, the delegation would also have meetings with senior executives from the IFC, MIGA, WB, AIIB, and IDB.
Earlier on July 24, Bangladesh sent a formal request for a $4.5 billion loan to the Washington-based multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) to combat the ongoing financial crisis.
Another reason for the loan request is foreign exchange (Forex) reserves declining against excessive imports.
The loan request was made in a letter to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday.
According to sources, the government sought the amount as a balance of payment and budget support as well as to mitigate the effects of climate change on Bangladesh.
Of the $4.5 billion sought, $1.5 billion would most likely be interest-free and the remaining amount would come at an interest less than 2%, said finance ministry officials.