Bangladesh received only $294.56 million in foreign assistance in the first two months of FY2026-27, while paying $698.92 million in foreign debt servicing, as fresh project assistance fell and repayments against earlier loans increased.
Foreign assistance disbursement in July-August fell by 60.7% from $750.07 million in the same period of FY2025-26, according to Economic Relations Division (ERD) data released on Sunday.
The decline widened the gap between new external financing and debt obligations, with the country receiving $291.37 million in foreign loans and $3.19 million in grants during the period, compared with $746.16 million in loans and $3.91 million in grants a year earlier.
Foreign debt servicing rose to $698.92 million in July-August of FY2026-27 from $667.11 million in the same period last year. Principal repayment increased to $516.04 million from $488.79 million, while interest payments rose to $182.88 million from $178.32 million.
In taka terms, foreign debt repayment increased to Tk8,626.25 crore from Tk8,130.87 crore during the same period last year.
The slower inflow also put foreign assistance disbursement behind the government’s FY2026-27 target of $10.099 billion. To remain on track, Bangladesh would need to receive around $1.683 billion in the first two months, assuming an even pace of disbursement throughout the year.
Actual inflow of $294.56 million reflects an 82.5% shortfall.
Foreign assistance commitments, however, remained almost unchanged year-on-year. Bangladesh secured commitments worth $240.39 million in July-August, compared with $243.81 million during the same period last year.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was the largest source of foreign assistance disbursement during the period, providing $128.72 million, followed by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) at $73.96 million.
Japan provided $39.04 million, India $30.30 million and Russia $20.65 million during the first two months of FY2026-27.
Bangladesh signed new foreign assistance commitments worth $240.39 million during the period, comprising $143.28 million in loans and $97.11 million in grants.
The Administration, ICT and Middle East wing accounted for the largest share of new commitments at $143.28 million, followed by Europe at $66.25 million and Asia, JEC and F&F at $13 million.
No new commitments were signed with the World Bank Group, ADB or Nordic development partners during the period.
