A town hall meeting was held on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at the Pabna District Shilpakala Academy to promote and ensure the successful implementation of two refinancing schemes announced by Bangladesh Bank: a BDT 10,000 crore scheme aimed at ensuring national food security and creating employment, and a BDT 3,000 crore scheme designed to establish an agriculture-based regional hub in Northern Bangladesh.

Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, attended the meeting as the chief guest. Special guests included Arief Hossain Khan, Executive Director and Spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank; Muhommad Badiuzzaman Dider, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank (Rajshahi Office); Liton Dhali, Additional District Magistrate of Pabna; Mohammad Fazlul Karim, Deputy Managing Director of Agrani Bank PLC; and Md. Harun-Ur-Rashid, Director of the Pabna Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event was presided over by Abu Sayed Md. Idris, Deputy Managing Director of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC.

The Pabna branches of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC and the regional office of Agrani Bank PLC served as the lead banks for coordinating the event.

During the program, sanction letters and cheques totaling BDT 2,70,00,000 (two crore seventy lakh) under the refinancing schemes were distributed among 27 agriculture and SME entrepreneurs supported by various scheduled banks operating in the Pabna area.

The meeting was attended by officials and managers from scheduled banks operating in Pabna, along with over 300 agriculture and SME entrepreneurs. Representatives from the Pabna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Department of Agricultural Extension, the Department of Livestock Services, the Department of Fisheries, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), the Bangladesh Rural Development Board, and the Department of Youth Development were also present.