, July 12 -- Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Sunday said Bangladesh will negotiate a new programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that safeguards public interest and the country's economic security, stressing that the government will not accept any conditions detrimental to the people.

Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat, he said the government is not primarily concerned with securing IMF funds but with protecting Bangladesh's economic interests.

"We will enter into a new programme that ensures the economic interests of the people. Whatever programme we undertake, the interests of the people of Bangladesh will remain fully protected," he said.

Khosru criticised the previous IMF-supported programme ne...