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additional package at a press conference at the IMF headquarters in Washington on Thursday night, he said Bangladesh, like many other Asian countries, has been affected by the energy shock due to its heavy reliance on imports.

“We are working with the authorities in terms of policy support and on the programmes, and negotiations are ongoing,” he said. “We’ll have to just wait and see how those things pan out.”

$3 BILLION EMERGENCY FUND

The government is aiming to secure around $3 billion in emergency assistance from development partners including the IMF and World Bank to cover surging energy and fertiliser import bills for the March–June period triggered by the war.

A Finance Ministry impact analysis estimates Bangladesh will need an additional $2.61 billion in foreign exchange to meet these costs. Total import expenditure on oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and fertiliser over the four-month period is projected at approximately $5.62 billion, an 86.7 percent jump from a year earlier, it added.

Bangladesh is trying to secure funds from the multilateral lenders, as they have launched special programmes for war-affected countries.

The World Bank announced it could mobilise up to $100 billion over the next 15 months, surpassing the $70 billion provided during the Covid-19 pandemic. The IMF has separately declared up to $50 billion in emergency support for developing and low-income countries, while the Asian Development Bank has unveiled a dedicated package for its Asia-Pacific members.

REGULAR BUDGET SUPPORT

Beyond the emergency assistance, Bangladesh is set to receive more than $2 billion in budget support from three development partners in the current fiscal year.

Beyond emergency assistance, Bangladesh is on track to receive more than $2 billion in regular budget support this fiscal year: $1.3 billion from the IMF’s $5.5 billion loan programme (in two instalments) by June, $400 million from the World Bank, and $750 million from the ADB.

However, progress hinges on meeting IMF reform conditions -- many of which remain unfulfilled, particularly around exchange rates and revenue. Failure to satisfy these benchmarks could jeopardise financing from other institutions as well.

Krishna Srinivasan was candid about Bangladesh’s fiscal performance, saying the country has not done well in terms of revenue intake.

“Revenue intake has slipped over the last three years. A lot of reforms are needed -- both on the fiscal side and on the revenue side,” he said, adding that there is work to be done across all three programme pillars: revenue reform, financial sector rehabilitation, and exchange rate adjustment.

Officials said Bangladesh is also pushing for additional budget support from the development partners under relaxed conditionality, similar to arrangements made during the pandemic. Discussions are underway with the World Bank to repurpose up to $1.5 billion in undisbursed funds from existing projects toward new initiatives or policy support.