The government is not withdrawing from its loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Instead, it is working to align the lender’s conditions and programmes with the country’s current economic realities and the government’s own five-year development plan, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said.

The process of coordination is expected to be completed by January-February next year, after which the programme will return to its normal course, he said.

The finance minister made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists at a briefing after inaugurating the first International Debt Management Conference in Cox’s Bazar on Sunday (November 15).

The two-day conference, jointly organised by the Finance Division and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), began on Sunday morning with the minister as the chief guest.

Asked why the government was continuing with the IMF loan programme despite having alternative sources of financing and concerns over its stringent conditions, Amir Khosru said discussions were underway to coordinate development plans with the World Bank, ADB and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), as well as the IMF.

He expressed hope that the coordination process would be completed by January-February, allowing the programme to resume its normal course.

The minister said the loan programme and its conditions had been agreed upon during the tenure of the previous unelected government. The current elected government could not implement those conditions overnight, he added.

He warned that abruptly implementing the conditions could increase pressure on ordinary people and adversely affect businesses and the overall economy.

Emphasising the need for coordination among development partners, he said a lack of alignment among their programmes could make it difficult to implement development projects. The government therefore wants to ensure that all development assistance programmes reflect the country’s priorities and economic realities.

Rejecting speculation that the government was planning to withdraw from the IMF programme, the finance minister said no such decision had been taken.

He added that two working groups were currently working to resolve differences with the IMF. The necessary adjustments to the programme and its conditions would be made through discussions between the two sides.

Amir Khosru expressed hope that the working groups would complete their work by January-February. He reiterated that the government’s objective was not to end its relationship with the IMF or discontinue the loan programme, but to implement it in a way that serves the country’s economic interests, protects the public and supports the government’s development priorities.