The government on Wednesday urged the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stand beside Bangladesh with greater support in the wake of global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal made the call while addressing a video conference with the IMF and the WB headquarters on the latest coronavirus situations from the NEC Conference Room in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Banglanagar area.
Kamal said, “It is not possible for Bangladesh to face the crisis singlehandedly. So, we urge the WB and the IMF to come up with greater support considering the risky situations in Bangladesh.” Thanking the WB and the IMF for organizing the video conferencing, the minister said, “We came together to find out a way (to overcome the crisis).
“One of the key steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection is to impose unprecedented lockdown, and communications shutdown.
“These situations have already begun to affect the global economy adversely. Global stocks have fallen by 28-34 percent. If the impacts last long, global economic growth may decline by 1.5 percent,” he added.
Expressing concern over the Covid-19 crisis may hurt Bangladesh economy, Kamal said, “Due to shutdowns in Europe and the United States, our garment industry witnesses a downtrend in export. “Besides, a large number of expatriates returned home due to the pandemic which may decrease remittance inflow,” he added.
The WB has already set up a $14 billion global fund to combat coronavirus while the IMF announced $50 billion in funding for coronavirus-hit countries with $10 billion for low-income countries. Bangladesh is expecting a big chunk from these global funds to face the economic crisis in the coming days due to the pandemic.
National Board of Revenue Chairman Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem, Senior Secretary of Financial Institutions Md Asadul Islam, Finance Secretary Abdur Rauf Talukder and Secretary of Economic Relations Fatima Yasmin were also present on the occasion. Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir joined the conference from his office.