WASHINGTON, DC, Oct 21 – Staff from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan on visiting Dhaka from October 26 to November 9, 2022, to start discussions with the Bangladeshi authorities on economic and financial reforms and policies.
The objective is to make progress towards a staff-level agreement on a prospective Extended Credit Facility/Extended Fund Facility program and access under the newly created Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in the coming months, a press statement from the IMF said today.
The RSF aims to provide affordable, long-term financing to help build resilience against climate risks in countries highly vulnerable to climate change, such as Bangladesh.
IMF staff would also continue the engagement with other stakeholders during the visit. This is the first mission and program discussions could continue over the coming months, the statement said, adding that Rahul Anand, IMF Mission Chief to Bangladesh will head the visit.
While the situation in Bangladesh is said to be far better than in Sri Lanka, the country has been seeing a hike in the prices of essential goods including oil in the months following the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
–WE