The advisory council of the Bangladesh interim government on Thursday decided that the country would graduate from the least developed countries’ bloc in 2026.
The decision came against the backdrop of demands by a section of businesses that Bangladesh’s graduation to a developing country should be deferred by at least two years to avert post-LDC challenges.
The decision was made at the advisory council meeting held at the Chief Adviser’s office in the capital Dhaka, chief adviser’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.
Shafiqul stated that the chief adviser had emphasised the need for starting preparations for the challenges that might arise from this transition.
‘Discussions regarding Bangladesh’s graduation from the LDC status have been going for a long time, and a final decision on this matter has been taken by the advisory council,’ he said.
Once Bangladesh graduates from LDC status in 2026, the country’s national prestige will increase, and its trade capacity will be strengthened, he added.
Bangladesh is scheduled to transition from an LDC to a developing country on November 24, 2026.
Responding to a question, Shafiqul said that political dialogue was not needed to implement some recommendations made by six reform commissions.
These can be implemented by the ministries concerned, he said.
‘A 30-page document is being prepared in this regard. The ministries will implement them in their own way,’ he said.
Shafiqul said that there was no financial involvement with the implementation of the recommendations with the chief adviser seeking speedy execution of those.
He also said, ‘Many allegations of irregularities were submitted regarding the project of building 560 model mosques by the ousted dictator regime with about $1 billion.’
If there was no corruption, this mosque could have been built at half of the cost, he said.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs has formed a committee to investigate the allegations, the press secretary said.
He said that the chief adviser had given instructions for the appointment of people in vacant posts in government offices quickly.
In the next meeting of the advisory council, the cabinet secretary will inform about the number of appointments that can be made, he said.
He also informed that the chief adviser was going to China on a four-day visit on March 26.
He will attend a BFA conference and hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping during his tour.
The press secretary said that detailed discussions were held in the meeting of the advisory council on importing electricity from Nepal.
He mentioned that Bangladesh was considering exporting electricity to Nepal in the winter.
