Bangladesh expects $12b-$15b from ADB till 2025

A flow of $12bn to $15bn loan assistance would be made available for Bangladesh till 2025 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB)_ said finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday.

Mr. Kamal expressed his optimism during a meeting with ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa alongside the bank s ongoing annual general meeting at its headquarters in Manila_ Phillipines.

According to a message reached in Dhaka on the day_  the finance minister during his talks with the ADB president apprised the latter of the Bangladesh-ADB partnership strategy 2021-2025 designed to support different national goals set by the country.

To achieve the goals and keep development up_ assistance from the global lender is important_ said the finance minister.

He called upon the ADB president to extend concessional loans for projects on mitigating climate challenge instead mixed loans.   

The ADB president_ according to the message_ assured Bangladesh of continuing support while praising the country s overall socio-economic progress. He also lauded Bangladesh for its measures to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ADB president called the construction of Padma Multipurpose Bridge with own resources a sign of Bangladesh s ability.

The finance minister_ however_ noted that the country s laudable 6% plus growth in gross domestic product (GDP) over the past 13 years faced challenges due to the pandemic and current global economic uncertainty caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

He stated that Bangladesh needed budget assistance and loans from Policy-Based Lending (PBL) for keeping up the country s progress.

PBL provides developing member countries of the ADB with fast-disbursing budget support that provides the bank with scopes to influence policy reform on growth and poverty reduction.

The finance minister also informed the ADB president that his country owed the bank $11.69 billion in loans after the country received $27.6 billion from it. He noted that Bangladesh never failed in debt payment in the past 51 years after its independence in 1971.