Economic Relations Division (Bangladesh)

The Economic Relations Division (ERD; অর্থনৈতিক সম্পর্ক বিভাগ, Arthanaitik Samparka Bibhāg) is one of the four divisions of the Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh ²⁵. It is the division through which the Government of Bangladesh mobilises and manages external resources — foreign loans, grants and technical assistance — and negotiates and signs agreements with development partners. Its official website is `erd.gov.bd` ¹, with a sub-site at `lcg.erd.gov.bd` ³.

Secretary

As of 19 September 2026, the Secretary of the Economic Relations Division is Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, who joined the division as Secretary on 23 November 2023 ³. His official profile records that he is a member of the 11th BCS (Administration) cadre ³. He was still in post at the last verification, having been cited as ERD Secretary in a development-partner release dated 9 February 2026 ⁴.

Functions

The Economic Relations Division’s documented role is to act for the Government of Bangladesh in relations with development partners and in the management of external financing. An illustration of that role: on 9 February 2026 the ERD signed two projects with the United Nations Development Programme on behalf of the Government ⁴.

The division’s remit sits alongside, and is distinct from, that of the other three divisions of the Ministry of Finance:

• the Finance Division, which prepares and controls the budget and non-development expenditure;
• the Internal Resources Division, which administers domestic revenue through the National Board of Revenue; and
• the Financial Institutions Division, which administers banks, non-bank financial institutions, insurance and the financial regulators ²⁵.

The Local Consultative Group

The division operates the Local Consultative Group (LCG) mechanism — a structured forum between the government and its development partners — through the sub-site `lcg.erd.gov.bd`, which publishes the arrangement’s chair profile and membership ³.

Verification notes

• The exact number of staff, wings or desks in the division was not retrieved; no source consulted states it.
• The current status of loans and grants under negotiation is not recorded here, as no figure was retrieved from a T1 source in this research round.
• The text of the division’s own statement of mandate was not quoted: the division’s site is reachable but the retrieved pages did not carry a standalone mandate statement. The description above is drawn from its documented activity and its position in the ministry structure ¹²⁴.

Sources

5 sources cited. Tiers: T1 official or primary, T2 scholarly or curated, T3 media of record.

1. Economic Relations Division — official website — Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://erd.gov.bd
2. Bangladesh National Portal — List of Ministries and Divisions (Economic Relations Division listed under Ministry of Finance) — Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://bangladesh.gov.bd/views/ministry-and-directorate-list
3. Local Consultative Group (LCG) — Chair profile, Economic Relations Division — Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://lcg.erd.gov.bd/chair/
4. ERD, UNDP sign two projects to advance economic transformation and governance systems — United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh (T3, accessed 2026-09-19). https://www.undp.org/bangladesh/press-releases/erd-undp-sign-two-projects-advance-economic-transformation-and-governance-systems
5. About NBR (statement of the Internal Resources Division’s placement under the Ministry of Finance) — National Board of Revenue (T1, accessed 2026-09-19). https://nbr.gov.bd/about-us/about-us/eng

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