The United Nations (UN) Committee for Development Policy (CDP) does not support Bangladesh's request for deferral of graduation from the least-developed country (LDC) category for a period of three years.
It suggests a shorter period.
"…a shorter extension of the preparatory period would appear more conducive for a sustainable graduation," the body said in its Crisis Assessment report on Bangladesh.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) in a press release said the CDP had expressed a "positive position regarding Bangladesh's request to extend its preparatory period for graduation from the LDC category until November 24, 2029".
In the assessment report, the CDP noted that the request for a three-year extension was in line with the practice of all five previous extensions of preparatory periods provided to graduating countries.
It also highlighted the current heightened uncertainty on impacts arising from external shocks and acknowledged the time needed for adjusting and setting priorities within the smooth transition strategy (STS).
At the same time, it also underscored the risk that, for a country that had met the criteria for graduation with comfortable margin, prolonging the time it stayed within the LDC category would prolong the time before it could harness the benefits of graduation.
Consequently, the committee said, a shorter extension of the preparatory period would appear more conducive for a sustainable graduation.
"This holds particularly for those benefits related to overcoming preference dependency and supporting a transformation towards a higher-productivity, higher value development trajectory envisaged by Bangladesh in its STS," it said.
Contacted, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and a member of the CDP, said the recommendation to extend the preparation period was an outstanding opportunity for Bangladesh.
"To properly utilise this opportunity, the government should promptly communicate to the UN its commitment to reform and the implementation plan.
"The LDC graduation should be seen as a political commitment, not just a socio-economic priority. The future of Bangladesh is embedded in it," he said.
syful-islam@outlook.com
