This information was provided in a press release from the Ministry of Commerce on Saturday (July 18).
The press release stated that the Commerce Minister made this call during separate bilateral meetings with the President and Vice-President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the UN headquarters.
In the meetings, he presented the government's rationale for extending the LDC graduation preparation period by three years to ECOSOC President and Permanent Representative of Nepal, Ambassador Lok Bahadur Thapa, and ECOSOC Vice-President and Permanent Representative of Algeria, Ambassador Amr Benjama.
The Commerce Minister said that due to the country's ongoing economic and political changes, global economic uncertainties, energy crisis, supply chain disruptions, multidimensional impacts of climate change, and other external adversities, Bangladesh has not been able to fully utilize the benefits of the predetermined preparation period.
He said Bangladesh is firmly committed to graduating from LDC status. The purpose of extending the preparation period is not to delay graduation; rather, it is to ensure a sustainable and stable transition through necessary structural reforms, strengthening good governance, restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening the financial sector, creating an investment-friendly environment, infrastructure development, and implementing an effective transition strategy.
The ECOSOC President and Vice-President, noting the existing global challenges for developing countries in LDC graduation, assured Bangladesh of working closely to ensure its smooth and sustainable transition.
Present as members of the Bangladesh delegation in the meetings were Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Planning Ministries; Planning Minister Jonaed Saki; Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky; Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury; President of the Leathergoods and Accessories Exporters Association of Bangladesh, Syed Nasim Manjur; and BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan.
