Government spokesman Mobhare Matinyi said the allegations were false
OPEC Fund approves $70m in loans to Bangladesh for COVID-19 response
The OPEC Fund for International Development or the OPEC Fund has provided a $70 million loan to Bangladesh to help fight the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Published : 25 August 2020, 08:42 AM
Updated : 25 August 2020, 08:42 AM
The loan to Bangladesh will help provide social safety net programmes for the poor, day labourers and informal workers, as well as healthcare staff, the OPEC Fund said in a statement on Monday.
The loan will also contribute to economic packages to protect Bangladesh’s export industry.
Measures include zero-cost credit to support factory worker salaries and low-interest loans to factories and small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Furthermore, around 600,000 tonnes of rice and wheat will be distributed to low-income households.
Besides Bangladesh, the organisation has extended loans to support COVID-19 response efforts in Benin, Dominica and Guyana.
The loans, totalling $115 million, form part of the OPEC Fund’s $1 billion commitment to collective and coordinated COVID-19-related assistance for developing countries.
The OPEC Fund is the development finance institution established by the member states of OPEC in 1976 as a channel of aid to developing countries.
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