The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will continue discussions with Bangladesh to reach a staff-level agreement soon, possibly during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington this April.

In a statement today, the global lender said such an agreement would pave the way for completing the combined third and fourth reviews under its Extended Credit Facility (ECF), Extended Fund Facility (EFF), and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) programmes.

"Discussions are continuing with the objective of reaching a staff-level agreement in the near term… We reaffirm our commitment to support Bangladesh and its people at this challenging period," said the IMF.

An IMF mission led by Chris Papageorgiou visited Dhaka from April 6 to 17 to review the country's economic and financial policies.

The mission observed that the economy remains under pressure amid global uncertainty, with GDP growth falling to 3.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of FY25, down from 5.1 percent in the same period a year earlier.

This slowdown, it said, was due to the recent popular uprising, tighter policies, and weakened investor confidence.

Inflation, which had surged to a decade-high of 11.7 percent in July 2024, eased to 9.4 percent in March 2025 but remains well above the Bangladesh Bank's target of 5–6 percent.

The IMF recommended fiscal consolidation, a more flexible exchange rate, improved tax compliance, and institutional reforms to stabilise the economy.

It also called for greater governance and transparency, enhanced climate resilience, and structural reforms to attract investment and diversify exports.

The team held meetings with senior government officials, Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue, development partners, and private sector representatives during its visit.

The fourth tranche of IMF's $4.7 billion was originally scheduled to be released in March, but it was deferred as Bangladesh could not meet some prior conditions.

The instalments are disbursed upon fulfilment of conditions that have been mutually agreed upon by the government and the IMF to strengthen the foundation of the economy.

The IMF approved a loan of $4.7 billion in 2023, against which Bangladesh has already received three instalments amounting to $2.3 billion