Bangladesh has called for stronger international support and a three-year extension to its preparatory period for graduating from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category, saying the additional time would help ensure a smooth, sustainable, and stable transition.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce on Saturday, Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muqtadir presented the government’s position during separate meetings at the United Nations Headquarters with ECOSOC President and Nepal’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Lok Bahadur Thapa, and ECOSOC Vice-President and Algeria’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Amar Bendjama.
During the discussions, the minister explained the rationale behind Bangladesh’s request to extend the current LDC graduation preparation period by three years.
He said Bangladesh remains fully committed to graduating from the LDC category, stressing that the request is not intended to delay graduation, but rather to ensure the transition is completed in a resilient and sustainable manner.
The minister noted that Bangladesh has faced a series of challenges in recent years, including ongoing economic and political transformation, global economic uncertainty, energy market volatility, supply chain disruptions, the growing impacts of climate change, and other external pressures. These factors, he said, have limited the country’s ability to fully utilize the existing preparation period.
Muqtadir explained that an extended transition timeline would provide Bangladesh with greater opportunities to implement key structural reforms, strengthen governance, restore macroeconomic stability, reinforce the financial sector, improve the investment climate, modernize infrastructure, and effectively execute a comprehensive strategy for post-LDC development.
He emphasized that these reforms are essential to maintaining long-term economic resilience and competitiveness after Bangladesh graduates from the LDC category.
The Bangladesh delegation also included Economic and Planning Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, State Minister for Planning Jonayed Saki, Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association of Bangladesh President Syed Nasim Manzur, and BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan.
During the meetings, the ECOSOC President and Vice-President acknowledged the global challenges facing developing countries and reaffirmed their commitment to working closely with Bangladesh to support a smooth, sustainable, and stable graduation from LDC status.
