Bangladesh is working to defer its graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, but faces resistance from some competitor nations, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a workshop on LDC graduation organized by the private research organization RAPID in Dhaka, the secretary revealed that the government is quietly lobbying for an extension of the current timeline.
“We are definitely talking to foreign teams to defer the graduation — but we’re doing it in a low voice,” Mahbubur Rahman said. He warned, however, that it would be unwise to be overly optimistic as opposition to Bangladesh’s move is emerging from several friendly countries.
According to Rahman, a proposal to extend the graduation timeline requires approval through a vote at the UN General Assembly. Bangladesh successfully brought such a proposal once before, but the current situation is different.
“Countries you might think of as our friends are the first to oppose us — Japan, Turkey, India and the United States,” he said.
To address the challenge, Bangladesh is seeking technical assistance from the same countries opposing the move, hoping to reduce resistance.
“If we can defer graduation by three years, it would greatly benefit our economy. We are working on it and consulting experts to ensure no stone is left unturned,” Rahman added.
Bangladesh began its LDC graduation process in 2018, with full graduation originally set for 2024. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline was extended by two years to November 2026. After graduation, Bangladesh will lose duty-free and quota-free access to the European market, as well as other preferential trade benefits.
Business groups have been lobbying the interim government to push back the timeline by three to five years, citing the need for extra time to prepare for the loss of tariff-free trade, challenges in the pharmaceutical and apparel industries, and the country’s broader economic difficulties.
