The government has formally requested a total of $3.77 billion from the World Bank for the current FY27 to support energy imports, food security, banking sector reforms, and major infrastructure development.
Out of this total, $2.77 billion has been sought as project financing and $1 billion as direct budget support.
Additionally, Bangladesh is discussing a proposal to secure an extra $10 billion in loan assistance over the next three years beyond regular allocations.
The additional financing proposal was submitted under the "Resilience, Reform and Investment Partnership" (RRIP) framework.
It was first raised during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and the World Bank President on September 22 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The details and project outlines were further discussed during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings held in Bangkok from October 12 to 18.
A joint technical team—comprising representatives from the Economic Relations Division (ERD), the World Bank, and relevant stakeholders—will be formed within 60 days to shape the partnership, with the government aiming to finalize the framework by June next year.
Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who led the Bangladesh delegation in Bangkok, confirmed that discussions are ongoing and no final decision has yet been reached.
The $2.77 billion pipeline for the current fiscal year includes:
- $350 million: International Development Association (IDA) guarantee support to facilitate long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports at lower costs.
- $450 million: The Financial Sector Support Program-2, aimed at reforms in the banking and broader financial sectors.
- $300 million: An emergency support project for food security (meeting fertilizer import needs).
Furthermore, the government has requested World Bank support for major infrastructure projects, including the Dhaka-Chittagong rail chord line, the Dhaka-Chittagong expressway, and the Dhaka Inner Circular Ring Road. Preliminary discussions have also taken place regarding an umbrella investment project to restore rivers and canals around Dhaka and tackle pollution.
Under the proposed three-year RRIP framework, the $10 billion in additional financing is planned to be distributed across four primary areas:
- $4 billion: Urgent imports, including energy and fertilizer.
- $1.5 billion: Enterprise trade and employment continuity, supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
- $3 billion: Financial sector recovery and banking sector reforms.
- $1.5 billion: Contingent, catalytic, and co-financing instruments.
Parallel to the World Bank talks, the delegation negotiated with International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials regarding Bangladesh's requested $4.5 billion loan package.
The IMF emphasized structural policy reforms, specifically boosting the tax-to-GDP ratio and resolving capital shortfalls across the banking sector.
An IMF staff-level technical team is scheduled to visit Dhaka within the next two weeks.
The delegation also held separate meetings with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and various international financial institutions to discuss banking sector reforms and recapitalization, trade financing, exchange rate flexibility, monetary policy, and private sector investment.
Additionally, a specialized delegation met with representatives from Euroclear, Citi, Fitch Ratings, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, HSBC, JPMorgan, and Google to discuss credit ratings, potential sovereign bond issuance, and investment climate improvements.