Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has deferred its visit to Bangladesh by one week, officials said on Tuesday.
“The IMF Dhaka office has already informed us about its team’s new visiting schedule without mentioning any reason,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
 
The IMF team, led by the Deputy Division Chief of IMF for Asia-Pacific, David Cowen, will visit Bangladesh from March 8 to March 18 instead of March 1-12, according to the revised schedule.
Bangladesh will hold further discussions with IMF team for the US$1.0 billion loan under the latter’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) to improve the country’s balance of payments and boost economic growth.
In December 2010, the Washington-based multilateral lender agreed to provide Bangladesh with $1.0 billion ECF fund for a three-year period, subject to approval of the lender’s management and executive board.
BBN/SI/AD-01Mar11-6:28 pm (BST)