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Foreign aid disbursement drops by 13.4pc to $180m in July

UNB

Bangladesh received $180.18 million in foreign assistance in July, the first month of the current fiscal year 2026-27, marking a 13.4 percent decline from $208.04 million disbursed in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year.

According to the provisional Foreign Assistance Monthly Report for FY2026-27, prepared by the Foreign Aid Budget and Accounts (FABA) Wing of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), the country received $179.67 million in loans and $0.51 million in grants in July 2026.

In July 2025, the country received $207.73 million in loans and $0.31 million in grants, bringing total disbursement to $208.04 million.

The latest figures show that loan disbursement declined by $28.06 million, or around 13.5 percent, year-on-year.

However, grant disbursement increased by $0.20 million, or nearly 64.5 percent, during the month.

No foreign assistance was disbursed under the food assistance category in either July 2026 or July 2025.

The report also shows that foreign aid commitments during July 2026 stood at $14.05 million, entirely in the form of grants. No loan commitment was recorded during the month.

In July 2025, total foreign aid commitments were substantially higher at $83.46 million, comprising $77.46 million in grants and $6 million in loans.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s debt servicing obligations increased in July 2026 compared with the same month of the previous fiscal year.

The country paid a total of $453.23 million in debt servicing in July 2026, consisting of $341.72 million in principal repayments and $111.51 million in interest payments.

In July 2025, debt servicing amounted to $446.68 million, including $327.72 million in principal and $118.96 million in interest.

Thus, total debt servicing increased by $6.55 million, or about 1.5 percent, year-on-year. While principal repayments rose by $14 million, interest payments declined by $7.45 million.

In taka terms, Bangladesh paid 5,587.96 crore taka in debt servicing in July 2026, compared with 5,447.79 crore taka in July 2025.

Of the latest debt servicing payment, 4,213.10 crore taka was principal repayment and 1,374.86 crore taka was paid as interest.

The increase in debt servicing comes at a time when foreign assistance disbursement has started the new fiscal year at a lower level than the previous year’s opening month.

Foreign assistance remains an important source of financing for Bangladesh’s development projects, particularly infrastructure, energy, transport, health and other priority sectors.

The disbursement of loans and grants depends largely on project implementation progress and compliance with conditions attached to development assistance.

The July figures are provisional and may be revised in subsequent monthly reports.

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