Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury spoke during today's JS session. Photo: Video screenshot

SANGSAD BHABAN, April 21, 2026 (BSS) -Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today informed the Jatiya Sangsad that Bangladesh’s outstanding foreign debt stood at around US$78 billion as of February 2026.

“According to the account up to February 2026, the outstanding foreign debt of the Bangladesh government amounts to US$78,067.20 million,” he said, while replying to a starred question from independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana (Brahmanbaria-2).

Earlier, the day’s sitting of parliament started at 3:00 pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, in the chair.

The finance minister said the Economic Relations Division (ERD) repays foreign loans on behalf of the government. 

Each fiscal year, he said, a projection is prepared to estimate the total expenditure for servicing foreign debt, including both principal and interest, and necessary allocations are kept in the national budget.

Loan repayments are being made from the budgetary allocation throughout the year following a scheduled plan, he said.

In reply to a scripted question from treasury bench member Md Shamsur Rahman Simul Biswas (Pabna-5), Khosru said the government received a total of US$85,992.64 million (nearly $86 billion) in foreign loans from 2008–09 fiscal year to 2025–26 fiscal year.

During the same period, the government repaid US$22,328.47 million in principal and US$8,696.82 million in interest, he said.

As of December 30, 2025, the outstanding foreign debt stood at US$77,279.12 million ($77 billion), said Amir Khosru.

He also informed the House that from the 2007–08 fiscal year to February of 2025–26, the government borrowed a total of US$87,396.03 million and repaid US$22,050.79 million in principal.

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