← Government Watch

Economic Relations Division

division · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
SM Ebadur Rahman
Role
Secretary
Annual budget
Staff
Established
1972
Legal basis
Rules of Business 1996, Schedule 1 (Allocation of Business among Different Ministries and Divisions); Government Service Act, 2018 (Section 49 for contractual appointments)

Coordinating a record multi-donor pipeline: $1.3 billion IMF tranche expected by July 2026, $500 million WB budget support and $1.1 billion additional WB loans pending board approval, $2.5 billion ADB 2026 pipeline, $1.135 billion WB-AIIB loan repurposing for food-energy security, and the SSGP flagship project managing LDC graduation transition support.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

ERD was originally established as the External Resources Division on 31 January 1972 under PM Mujibur Rahman; renamed Economic Relations Division in October 1990. It is one of four divisions under the Ministry of Finance (alongside Finance Division, Financial Institutions Division, and Internal Resources Division). The official URL erd.gov.bd redirects to erd.portal.gov.bd. SM Ebadur Rahman appointment on 2026-03-26 is contractual (one year) under Government Service Act 2018, Section 49; he replaced Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky. The $5.5 billion IMF figure comprises original $3.3 billion ECF/EFF (January 2023) + $1.4 billion RSF (January 2023) + $800 million augmentation under interim government. Of $5.5 billion total, $3.64 billion was disbursed as of June 2025 across five tranches; $1.86 billion remains. The $500 million WB budget support and $1.135 billion loan repurposing facts are cross-verified from TBS News, The Daily Star, and ERD official statements. annual_budget_bdt left null: ERD operating budget is a sub-line within MoF allocation not separately published in primary sources available.

Sources