Bangladesh's growth and foreign exchange reserves are being hampered by inflation and a slowdown in key trading partners, according to the IMF.

Bangladesh's economy is still one of the fastest-growing in the Asia-Pacific region, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that growth, foreign currency reserves, and the country's currency, the taka, are all still being affected by persistent inflationary pressures, increased global financial volatility, and slowdown in important advanced trading partners.

 

The IMF released the assessment following a staff visit to Dhaka that started on April 25.

According to a statement, the team met with top representatives of the finance ministry, Bangladesh Bank, and energy ministry to discuss recent macroeconomic developments and the implementation of the Fund-supported program. Rahul Anand, the team's mission chief for Bangladesh, led the meetings.

"We talked about recent macroeconomic and financial sector developments during the visit. We also evaluated the steps taken to fulfill significant commitments made under the program supported by the Fund, according to Anand.

This will be formally evaluated during the initial review of the $4.7 billion loan it approved for Bangladesh in January of this year in accordance with its Extended Credit Facility (ECF), Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), and other agreements.

It's anticipated that the review will be conducted later this year.

According to the IMF, meetings were held with the governor of the Bangladesh Bank, Abdur Rouf Talukder, the finance secretary, Fatima Yasmin, as well as other senior members of the government and the Bangladesh Bank, as well as representatives from the private sector, bilateral donors, and development partners.

"We want to express our gratitude to the authorities for their open communication and welcoming hospitality. We look forward to continuing to support Bangladesh and its citizens.