UN to support independent assessment on Bangladesh’s LDC graduation readiness

In response to a formal request from the interim government of Bangladesh, UN Under-Secretary-General Rabab Fatima has declared that her office will assist an independent readiness assessment for Bangladesh’s transition out of the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.

At a meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his hotel here on Monday, Fatima—who is also the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States—made the news.

According to her, the readiness evaluation should start in a month and be finished by the middle of January. To guarantee a thorough and impartial assessment, it will be carried out in collaboration between an international consultant and a Bangladeshi specialist.

The assessment will involve extensive consultations with key stakeholders, including government officials, business chambers, development experts, civil society leaders, donors, financial institutions, and political representatives, to determine whether Bangladesh is adequately prepared for the transition.

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus welcomed the initiative, emphasising the need for empirical evidence before proceeding with the graduation. 

“It has become an emotional issue,” he remarked, highlighting the importance of objective data in informing policy decisions.

In response, Fatima noted that the UN’s most recent economic data on Bangladesh is over two years old. “A lot has changed since then,” she said, underscoring the urgency of reassessing the country’s current economic landscape and for making an informed decision.
Prof Yunus also expressed concern over the future of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry, which has significantly benefited from trade preferences tied to its LDC status. He observed that graduation could put the sector at risk if adequate transition measures are not in place.

Fatima, who has been the Under Secretary General since 2022 and is the highest ranking UN official of Bangladeshi descent, talked about her experience working for the UN.

The Chief Adviser has expressed a great deal of interest in learning how Dhaka may further boost Bangladesh’s involvement in the international system by looking into career options for Bangladeshi government workers to serve in various UN bodies.

SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, and Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN, were also present at the conference.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters at a city hotel about the meeting’s results, saying the evaluation is crucial to determining Bangladesh’s readiness to leave LDCs.

According to him, the UN’s impartial preparedness assessment will start in a month and be finished in January.