Bangladesh gets UN recommendation to graduate from LDC status
Bangladesh has received recommendation by the United Nations to graduate from the status of least developed countries (LDC).
The UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) made the recommendation on Friday night after a five-day meeting.
Taffere Tesfachew, chief of the CDP subgroup on LDCs, in an online briefing made the disclosure on Friday night.
However, Bangladesh has to wait until 2026 to leave LDC.
Generally the developing countries that are comparatively weak, are considered the least developed countries. The list of LDC was made first in 1971. Bangladesh was enlisted in 1975. If everything goes well, Bangladesh will join other developing countries after five years leaving LDC status.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) special fellow Mustafizur Rahman said the next five years have to be considered as the preparation period.
The final approval is generally given at the UN general assembly three years after the recommendation by CDP. But two more additional years have been given this time for the preparation tackling the impact of coronavirus.
Bangladesh sought the two-year additional time at a meeting with CDP on 15 January.
Nepal alongside Bangladesh gets recommendations to leave LDC. Such recommendation is given if a designated standard is achieved for the two consecutive terms in the triennial assessment of CDP. Laos and Myanmar have also achieved a designated standard in the assessment of CDP in 2021.
But CDP has not recommended Myanmar, saying the imposition of emergency by the military may have a negative impact on the development. The issue of recommendation to leave LDC has been postponed until 2024.
On the contrary, Nepal achieved the standard for the second consecutive term in 2018. But the recommendation was not made in that year to recover from the loss caused by the earthquake.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CDP) special fellow Mustafizur Rahman said the next five years have to be considered as the preparation period.
There will not be many trade facilities after the graduation from LDC status, he said adding a preparation has to be taken to face the trade competition.
The qualification to graduate from LDC is determined through three determiners-per capita income, human resources and climate and economic vulnerability. A country has to achieve qualification in two indexes or the per capital income of designated ceiling has to be double.