He spoke to journalists after inaugurating an international debt conference at the Ocean Paradise Hotel in Cox's Bazar. The two-day conference is jointly organized by the Finance Ministry and the Asian Development Bank.
The minister said two working groups are trying to resolve differences between the government's economic priorities and the conditions of the IMF programme. He expects their work to be completed by January or February. He said there has been no discussion of withdrawing from the IMF programme.
He said the earlier programme was agreed under the previous unelected government and includes conditions that an elected government finds hard to carry out. Many of the conditions need proper sequencing and time, he said, and rushing them would force decisions that hurt people and businesses.
The minister said the government has adopted a five-year development programme. The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have aligned their support with the government's development priorities, he said, and the IMF is also aligning with the programme.
Bangladesh formally applied to the IMF for a new programme on June 3. The earlier arrangement was signed in January 2023 as a $4.7 billion loan and was later raised to $5.5 billion.
