Business Desk :
Bangladesh expects to receive $12 billion to $15 billion in credit support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by 2025 under the lender’s country partnership strategy, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday.
The minister said this after a bilateral meeting with ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa as part of the annual meeting at the ADB headquarters in Manila.
Kamal said the ADB has helped Bangladesh to recover from the economic and health crisis by providing quick vaccines and cost assistance.
“The important matter is that the Bangladesh-ADB Partnership Strategy (2021-2025) is aligned with Bangladesh’s national development and goals. Which is expected to provide us with $12 billion to $15 billion in credit over the next five years.”
ADB’s continued support is crucial for Bangladesh in achieving our development milestones, he said.
Kamal also said currently, the cumulative financing of the ADB in Bangladesh stands at $27.6 billion dollars. “Of which the total outstanding is $11.69 billion. Bangladesh continues to service its debt regularly with great capacity.”
In its 51 years of journey, Bangladesh has never failed to repay domestic and foreign debts, Kamal said adding that Bangladesh has one of the lowest debt-GDP ratios in the world as it is just 34 per cent.
In the meeting, the ADB president praised the economic progress and capabilities of Bangladesh.
He said the ADB has special importance for Bangladesh. The issues raised by Bangladesh in this year’s annual meeting will also be seriously considered, Asakawa said.
