DHAKA: The Intern­ational Monetary Fund has signed off on a $4.7 billion support loan package for Bangladesh to help it cope with soaring energy and food costs that have sparked huge protests.

Bangladesh and other South Asian countries dependent on fossil fuel imports were hit hard by sharp cost-of-living incr­eases following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nationwide blackouts of up to 13 hours a day hit the electricity grid last year and the government extended food relief for households unable to afford rice and other staples. The IMF package makes $476 million immediately available to the government but commits it to tax hikes and bringing down the number of bad loans in the banking sector.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2023