STAR BUSINESS REPORT

Japan will provide Bangladesh a concessional loan of around $312 million to help bolster energy security and economic resilience as the conflict in the Middle East places growing strain on the country’s finances.

To that end, officials from both sides signed the “Emergency Support Loan for Enhancing Economic Resilience and Stable Energy Supply” agreement in Dhaka yesterday, according to a press statement.

Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Takahashi Junko, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Bangladesh Office, signed the documents on behalf of their respective sides at the ERD in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

The loan -- equivalent to 50 billion yen and to be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) -- is intended to help Bangladesh address socio-economic pressures stemming from higher energy prices and supply uncertainties linked to the Middle East conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.

The signing comes as Bangladesh faces mounting fiscal pressure from the conflict. Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament yesterday that preliminary estimates suggest the country will require an additional The