World Bank Ready To Support Bangladesh Amid Oil, Gas And Supply-Chain Shocks: Finance Minister

New York/Dhaka, September 22, 2026 — The World Bank has agreed to support Bangladesh in dealing with external economic shocks related to oil and gas supplies and supply-chain disruptions, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Tuesday, after a meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga at the UN Headquarters in New York.

🏛 The meeting, which lasted about half an hour, took place on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Finance Minister briefed reporters in front of the UN Headquarters after the meeting, UNB reported.

💬 The External Shock Conversation

💬 “External shocks are creating problems for the economy due to issues related to oil, gas and supply chains, which are beyond Bangladesh's control. We discussed what role the World Bank can play, and it has agreed to come forward with support,” the Finance Minister said.

He said Bangladesh and the World Bank agreed to work together to ensure that supply-chain disruptions do not hamper the country's development trajectory. The discussion focused on Bangladesh's partnership with the World Bank and how the two sides can work together under the partnership framework to support the country's development trajectory.

The commitment comes at a critical moment for Bangladesh. The country is facing an acute energy crunch — gas supply disruptions have forced partial production halts at dozens of factories, and the September 20 fuel price hike (Tk 20 per litre across diesel, octane, petrol and kerosene) is set to cascade through transport and production costs in the coming weeks.

👥 Social Programmes And Youth Entrepreneurship

Khosru said the meeting also discussed the government's social programmes, including the Family Card and Farmers' Card, which he said were appreciated by the World Bank. The World Bank will support such programmes, and the two sides also discussed expanding initiatives aimed at creating young entrepreneurs and generating employment.

💬 “We have already rolled out programmes for young entrepreneurs based on 50 percent grants and 50 percent concessional loans. We discussed how we can expand these programmes together with the World Bank,” the minister said.

He said the government wants to take youth entrepreneurship and employment programmes to a larger scale so that entrepreneurship among young people can generate more jobs and further employment in the economy.

🌏 Trillion-Dollar Economy By 2034

💬 “The role of the young generation is extremely important in the economic trajectory we are pursuing towards a trillion-dollar economy by 2034,” Khosru said.

Bangladesh's ambition to reach a trillion-dollar economy by 2034 was first articulated in the government's Vision 2041 framework, and has been reinforced in subsequent policy documents. To reach that goal, the country's GDP would need to grow at an average of approximately 8-9 per cent per year in real terms — well above the 4 per cent forecast for FY27 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The World Bank's willingness to support Bangladesh's youth entrepreneurship and employment agenda is significant because the country's demographic dividend — with about 2.2-2.3 million young people entering the labour market each year — can only be converted into economic growth if sufficient jobs are created. The IMF had recently flagged that 36 per cent of Bangladesh's educated young people are unemployed.

💰 Capital Market And Banking Sector Reforms

Khosru also said the government is seeing positive signs in several areas of the economy:

• 📈 Capital market improvements — “We are seeing signs of improvement in the capital market.”
• 🏦 Banking sector recapitalisation — “We are reforming and trying to recapitalise our banks, and there are signs of improvement there.”
• 💵 Export growth — “Our exports are increasing.”
• 💵 Remittance growth — “Remittances are increasing.” (Bangladesh received US$7.888 billion in remittances in the first 83 days of FY27, up 13.8 per cent year-on-year.)
• ⭐ Credit rating upgrade — “Our rating has moved from negative to stable.” (Moody's restored Bangladesh's credit rating outlook to stable in September 2026.)

💬 “The signs in the economy are very positive,” the Finance Minister said.

🏛 Context: Bangladesh's World Bank Relationship

Bangladesh has been a member of the World Bank since 1972 and is one of the largest recipients of World Bank concessional financing through the International Development Association (IDA). Cumulative World Bank commitments to Bangladesh exceed US$40 billion across more than 250 projects, spanning infrastructure, education, health, climate resilience, private sector development and economic governance.

The World Bank's current Country Partnership Framework for Bangladesh runs through 2026 and focuses on four areas:

• 🏭 Trade and competitiveness — supporting export diversification and trade facilitation.
• 💡 Energy and infrastructure — financing power generation, transmission and energy efficiency.
• 🌾 Climate and environmental resilience — supporting the Bangladesh Delta Plan and adaptation investments.
• 👥 Human capital and jobs — financing education, skills and social protection.

🏛 UNGA Engagements

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's UN engagements began on Tuesday with a welcome breakfast hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for heads of delegation and their spouses, followed by the opening session and high-level General Debate of the General Assembly.

During his brief New York stay, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold a series of bilateral and high-level meetings with heads of state and government and leaders of international organisations. He is scheduled to address the General Debate on September 24.

Prime Minister's Finance and Planning Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir was also present at the meeting with the World Bank President.

💼 What This Means For Bangladesh's Economy

For Bangladesh, the World Bank's commitment to support external shock response comes at a particularly useful moment. The country's foreign exchange reserves have drifted downward from a 2021 peak of US$48 billion to around US$19-20 billion, and the September 20 fuel price hike is expected to widen the import bill further.

World Bank support for external shocks could take several forms:

• 💰 Development Policy Operation (DPO) financing — quick-disbursing budget support tied to reform milestones.
• 💰 Catastrophe Drawdown Option (CAT-DDO) — a contingent line of credit that can be drawn upon in the event of a qualifying shock.
• 💰 Resilient Recovery Programmes — longer-term financing focused on rebuilding after shocks.

Bangladesh has previously drawn on similar instruments, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the World Bank provided approximately US$1.5 billion in crisis response financing.

The commitment to support youth entrepreneurship is also significant because it aligns with the government's Udyog initiative under Bangladesh Bank, which provides young entrepreneurs with grants and concessional loans. The 50:50 grant-to-concessional-loan structure mentioned by the Finance Minister suggests an evolution of that programme with World Bank co-financing.

🌏 Strategic Outlook

The World Bank commitment adds to Bangladesh's external financing toolkit as it navigates the dual challenges of LDC graduation in 2026 and a difficult global economic environment. With IMF financing already in place under the US$4.0 billion programme announced for FY27, and with World Bank support for external shocks now publicly committed, Bangladesh has a stronger financing cushion to weather the energy and supply-chain disruptions that have dominated the economic headlines of late.

The next milestone will be whether the World Bank's support translates into concrete financing announcements in the coming weeks — particularly ahead of the IMF's next programme review scheduled for October 2026.