Bangladesh asks to extend preparatory period for LDC graduation for 5 yrs
Bangladesh has called for extending the preparatory period to five years -- from 2021 to 2026 -- for its graduation from the status of a Least Developed Country (LDC).
It also asked the international community for the continuation of international support to make the upcoming graduation smooth and sustainable.
The call was made during a session of the ongoing Expert Group meeting of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) held today, as part of the preparation for the upcoming triennial review meeting.
Bangladesh is set to meet the LDC graduation criteria for the second consecutive time and will be recommended for graduation during the upcoming triennial review of the CDP of the United Nations (UN) in February 2021.
The Bangladesh delegation today was led by Principal Coordinator (SDG Affairs) of the Prime Minister's Office Zuena Aziz.
During the session, Economic Relations Division Secretary (ERD) Fatima Yasmin delivered a presentation, highlighting the unprecedented socioeconomic progress achieved by Bangladesh in recent times as well as the latest position of the country regarding the graduation.
The Bangladesh delegation also called for providing extended preparatory period of five years.
In March 2018, Bangladesh, for the first time, met all the criteria for LDC graduation at the CDP triennial review.
As per the provisions of the UN, a country must be found eligible in two successive triennial reviews to be recommended by CDP for graduation.
A country can enjoy three to five years long preparatory period after being recommended for graduation, as per CDP rules.
If Bangladesh gets the five-year preparatory period, the country will formally graduate from the LDC status in 2026.
During this period, Bangladesh would be entitled to enjoy all the international support measures reserved for LDCs.
In addition, as per the existing provisions, the country would also remain eligible to enjoy duty free quota free access in the European Union market for three more years lasting until the year 2029.
The ERD secretary in her country presentation mentioned that Bangladesh is going to be recommended for graduation at a time when the whole country is celebrating fifty years of independence.
Md TofazzelHossain Miah, secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division; Mohammad Yamin Chowdhury, permanent representative of Bangladesh Mission to the UN in New York; Rabab Fatima, permanent representative of Bangladesh Mission to the UN in Geneva; Md Mustafizur Rahman, joint secretary and project director of Support to Sustainable Graduation Project of ERD and Farid Aziz were part of the Bangladesh delegation in the meeting, among others.
CDP Chair José Antonio Ocampo and other members of CDP praised the unprecedented socioeconomic progress made by Bangladesh in recent years.
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