The finance minister said the country’s foreign debt has reached $78 billion

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Tuesday told the Jatiya Sangsad that Bangladesh’s outstanding foreign debt stood at about $78 billion as of February this year.

“Based on accounts up to February 2026, the government’s outstanding foreign debt totals $78,067.20 million,” he said while responding to a starred question from independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana (Brahmanbaria-2).

The parliamentary session began at 3pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, presiding.

Khosru noted that the Economic Relations Division (ERD) handles the repayment of foreign loans on behalf of the government. Each fiscal year, projections are made to estimate total debt servicing costs—covering both principal and interest—and the required funds are allocated in the national budget.

He added that repayments are made throughout the year from these allocations according to a fixed schedule.

In response to a separate question from ruling party MP Md Shamsur Rahman Simul Biswas (Pabna-5), the minister said Bangladesh received $85,992.64 million (nearly $86 billion) in foreign loans between the 2008–09 and 2025–26 fiscal years.

Over the same period, the government repaid $22,328.47 million in principal and $8,696.82 million in interest.

As of 30 December 2025, the outstanding foreign debt stood at $77,279.12 million, he said.

He further stated that from the 2007–08 fiscal year to February of 2025–26, total borrowing amounted to $87,396.03 million, while $22,050.79 million was repaid in principal.

“As a result, the country’s foreign debt increased by $65,346.24 million during this period,” the minister added.