The agreement was signed between the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance and the International Development Agency (IDA), a subsidiary of the World Bank Group, on Monday (October 5, 2026). The amount of this assistance provided under the "Emergency Support for Food Security Project" is 219.2 million SDR (Special Drawing Rights), which is equivalent to about 300 million dollars.
The agreement was signed by ERD Secretary Md. Shahriar Quader Siddiqui and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Jean Pem.
The project will be implemented for a period of one year from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. It will be implemented in coordination with Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) under the management of the Finance Department.
The project aims to improve Bangladesh's overall food security by ensuring access to essential fertilizers for small and marginal farmers during the planting season, officials said.
According to the terms of the agreement, interest will be charged at an annual rate of 1.5 percent on the loan drawn and a commitment fee of up to 0.50 percent on the undrawn amount. However, the World Bank has been waiving this commitment fee for Bangladesh for the past few years, including the current fiscal year. The loan will be repaid in a total of 25 years, including a five-year grace period.
Officials noted that the World Bank is Bangladesh's largest multilateral development partner. The organization has been providing continuous support to Bangladesh in various important sectors, including economic and social development, institutional reforms, infrastructure and energy. They expressed hope that this new financing agreement will further strengthen the long-standing and strong partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank.
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Source: Online/GFMM
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