The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provisionally agreed a $4.5-billion support programme on Wednesday for Bangladesh, with the country's finance minister saying the deal would help prevent economic instability escalating into a crisis.
Bangladesh's $416-billion economy has been one of the world's fastest growing for years. But rising energy and food prices, sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, along with shrinking foreign exchange reserves, have swelled its import bill and current account deficit.
