Home ›› 29 Mar 2023 ›› Front
Foreign aid commitment declined by 63 per cent to $1.78 billion in the first eight months of FY23 when compared year-on-year.
The disbursement of foreign aid also fell by 17 per cent in that period year-on-year, according to the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
The country received foreign aid commitment to the tune of $1.78 billion in loans and grants in the July-February period of this fiscal year, down from $4.84 billion in the same period of FY22, the ERD data shows.
Besides, the major international development partners released $4.87 billion in loans and grants between July and February of FY23, which was $5.89 billion in the same period a year ago.
ERD officials said foreign aid commitment and disbursement declined due to the slow implementation of projects.
They also said loans for several development projects are waiting to be signed, causing fund disbursement to decrease. They added that disbursement would increase within two to three months.
Bangladesh received over $10 billion in foreign aid from lenders in FY22.
A senior official of ERD told The Business Post foreign aid disbursement declined in the first eight months of this fiscal year as funds are stuck in the pipeline.
Loan disbursement will increase further riding on better implementation of projects during the remaining period of this fiscal year, he added.
The official also said the government is negotiating with foreign donors for getting budget support to mitigate the demand for foreign fund for implementing development projects.
In the revised FY23 annual development programme (ADP), the government trimmed down Tk 18,500 crore from foreign assistance but did not cut public funds.
In the July-February period of FY23, the government repaid $1.4 billion to development partners. The amount was $1.3 billion during the corresponding period last year.
