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Political leaders and economists on Wednesday called on the government to delay the country’s graduation from the Least Developed Country status, warning that it was economically and institutionally ill-prepared to manage the challenges that would come with a post-graduation status.

At a seminar they warned that ‘premature graduation’ could potentially harm key industries, exacerbate poverty and undermine the country’s competitive edge in global markets as Bangladesh neared its scheduled graduation from the United Nations’ LDC status in November 2026.

Held at Sheraton hotel in the capital, the event titled ‘LDC graduation of Bangladesh: between readiness and reality’ was organised by Change Initiative.

Experts and politicians also called on the government to initiate a national dialogue and implement crucial reforms to ensure that the nation’s transition was sustainable and beneficial in the long term.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury strongly argued for delaying the LDC graduation.

Having said that Bangladesh was not ready either economically or institutionally, he warned that industries outside the readymade garment sector would particularly struggle after graduation as it lacked tariff support and policy measures.

Khasru, also former commerce minister, said that the issue of LDC graduation should be debated in a democratically elected parliament with genuine representation of the people.

For the past 15 years, Bangladesh lacked democracy and inclusive decision-making, he added.

A democratically elected parliament should lead the debate and consensus-building process to decide when and how Bangladesh should graduate from the LDC status, he emphasised.

The graduation criteria were driven by a false political narrative of development manufactured by the past regime, he said.

Economics professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Mushtaq Khan said, ‘The country is simply not ready for open competition. We need urgent analysis and data collection involving multiple stakeholders to assess whether Bangladesh is truly prepared for LDC graduation.’

He raised serious concerns about the potential negative impact of Bangladesh’s imminent graduation from LDC status on its garment industry.

He said that the European Union’s automatic safeguard thresholds might potentially leave Bangladeshi exports less competitive despite a three-year grace period even after graduation.

‘I know of a very large European retailer, which is one of the biggest purchasers of Bangladeshi garments, and they are extremely concerned about our premature graduation. They spoke with our government to ask if they understood that Europe has something called automatic safeguard thresholds,’ Mushtaq said.

He urged the government to make the case to the United Nations Economic and Social Council that it could lead to poverty increase.

Change Initiative’s head of research Estiaque Bari presented a keynote paper at the seminar, calling for a strategic deferral to safeguard national interests.

He said that the lack of diversification made Bangladesh vulnerable once LDC preferences expired.

The post LDC tariffs on exports would jeopardise the competitiveness of Bangladesh in the global market, he further said, adding that the country’s slow progress in trade negotiations was a critical shortcoming in this regard.

Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki said that LDC graduation was ‘not a matter for the government alone’.

‘Trade bodies, civil society, and political parties must be involved in the discussion,’ he said. 

‘I strongly support extending the graduation timeline. To be clear, I’m not against graduation itself—I believe it should happen. But the reality is that we are not ready yet, and for many reasons, an extension is necessary,’ European Union Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh chairpersion Nuria Lopez said.

UNDP Bangladesh country economic adviser Owais Parray said that although Bangladesh exceeded the graduation thresholds as early as 2018, the real debate now lay in readiness and resilience—particularly in its dominant RMG sector.

Change Initiative chief executive Zakir Hossain Khan, National Citizen Party joint chief coordinator Sadia Farzana Dina, finance ministry additional secretary AKM Sohel, among others, spoke at the event.