Graduation from LDC and good governance

The graduation for Bangladesh from the least developed countries' (LDCs) league to that of the developing nations, as the latest indicators show, is not far away. Its graduation will be contrary to what some sceptics were prone to believe years ago. Now the key issue is not so much about expediting the process but sustaining it once the feat is achieved. Such a graduation must not be considered a political victory. Rather, it essentially involves many hardcore factors - indices, benchmarks and perimeters - that are mostly economic in nature. The country's political leadership has however been clamouring to achieve the accomplishment as a winning post that can be advanced as a clear manifestation of its performance in various socio-economic fields. It is here that the issue of governance comes in as a prerequisite for achieving the feat. For that matter, it is equally important, if not more, to get on with the required momentum to sustain it. The simple argument is that graduation is not an end in itself but a start-up journey on a not-so-easy terrain that requires continuous work to solidify the achievements.

Graduation is the process through which a country ceases to be an LDC. This, beside meeting the critical requirements in terms of clear economic indicators, means that a country set to graduate is considered to have overcome the structural handicaps. Such problems warrant special treatment from the international community, beyond what is generally granted to other developing countries. For a country like Bangladesh 'branded' as an LDC since its inception -- although much of its growth and successes owe hugely to its being termed so -- graduation is indeed a milestone in its long-term economic and social development. Bangladesh is projected to graduate from the current LDC status in 2024 provided it meets the three crucial criteria: income criteria, Human Asset Index (HAI) and Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI). An LDC can graduate if it meets two of these three criteria, or riding on the income criteria, if the country's income doubles. At present, Bangladesh meets the criteria under the EVI, according to an UNCTAD report.

Graduation must be seen as a means to an end; meeting the vital parameters will require an element of dynamism in the economy to carry the progress further on towards sustainability. This and other issues came up for discussion at a recently held public dialogue in the capital. Experts in the dialogue observed that the role of the government is critical to ensuring smooth graduation through creating enabling environment for, among others, investment, labour productivity and export diversification. To put these on a firm footing, as they noted, it is good governance that only can pave the way for not only achieving the feat of graduation but also for pushing things up in the right direction.

The reason why the governance issue is so vital is explained by the fact that graduation will eat into a lot of preferential benefits Bangladesh currently enjoys as an LDC. There has to be a well-planned roadmap to put things rightly in place and ensure that those are well implemented. The country's governance culture does not promise much in terms of effective control, monitoring and supervision. So, in all clarity, the prime role of good governance here comes in.