Bangladesh Pass The IMF Test: Finance Min

Bangladesh has passed the test of International Monetary Fund (IMF) for fulfilling the conditions of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), expressing hope that the country will receive the third installment of the loan in due time, said Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.

The optimism was expressed by him after a meeting at the Secretariat with IMF resident representatives Jayendu Dey on Thursday (February 8).

The Finance Minister said Bangladesh is on a good path regarding fulfilling the conditions of reserve and revenue collection. An IMF team will visit in March. After that, it is hoped that the IMF will waive the installment of the third loan.

In response to a question at the time, the Finance Minister said that weak banks can be merged with stronger ones, a practice prevalent in all countries. Time needs to be given for this. However, despite the readiness of the Bangladesh Bank in this regard, it is contingent upon the situation. The Ministry of Finance has not yet taken any initiative in this regard.

Later, the Finance Minister held a meeting with Canadian Ambassador Lilly Nicholls in Dhaka. He said discussions were held on investment issues, including reducing tariffs on imports of canola oil from the country.