Tk1.21 lakh crore paid in foreign debts in 12 years: Finance minister

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday told the Parliament that the government repaid nearly Tk1.21 lakh crore in foreign debts, including interest, in the past 12 years.

"From FY10 to FY21, the government paid Tk1,20,982 crore in loan repayment to various foreign development partners. Of the amount, Tk94,680 crore was in principal repayment and the remaining Tk26,301 crore in interest repayment," he said.

The minister was responding to a question from parliament members during a question and answer session.

On unsettled audits, Mustafa Kamal said the number of unsettled audit objections in the country is now 3.33 crore. The financial institution sector has the highest number of audit objections, with 48,258 to be exact, while the Law Commission has the least with only 9 in number.

On courier services, the finance minister said courier service companies have no legal rights to deliver cash from one customer to another.

"However, in the case of online shopping, they can collect money from the customers after delivering products just on behalf of merchants – it's a worldwide practice." 

The Bangladesh Bank also has guidelines for such services, he added.