Sri Lanka, despite struggling with an economic crisis, on Monday repaid $50 million to Bangladesh out of the $200 million loan that it took under a currency swap mechanism two years ago, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Confirming the deposition of the first installment by the Sri Lankan authorities, Bangladesh Bank (BB) spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque said the installment was received on August 17 last week.

He also informed that the amount has bumped up the country’s forex reserves.

“We’re expecting a second installment within this month,” added Haque, who is also an executive director of the central bank.

However, he declined to comment on what the amount of the second installment will be.

Bangladesh provided a loan amounting to $200 million from its foreign reserve to Sri Lanka, helping the reeling South Asian economy recover from an economic shock in September 2021.

The term of the one-year loan expired in September last year.Then the term was extended twice in three months till March this year.

Finally, the neighboring country was given another six-month till September to repay the loan.