Sustainability key to graduation from LDC

FT ONLINE

Sustainability in the ongoing development and growth thrust will be crucial for Bangladesh to finally become a developing country in six years time, economists say. 

The historic announcement made by the United Nation confirming the country’s eligibility for LDC graduation is a testimony of the steady progress Bangladesh made in some of the most critical growth indicators over the years, they noted.

The Committee for Development Policy (CDP), a UN body, made the announcement on the country's LDC graduation eligibility at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York.

The UN will continue to review the growth attained by Bangladesh in three critical areas -- per capita gross national income (GNI), human asset index (HAI) and economic vulnerability index (EVI) over the next six years.

The graduation process has just begun, which means that progress on three critical criteria will have to be sustained to make sure Bangladesh escapes the LDC bloc in 2024.

Former Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman termed the recognition as a unique milestone for the country as it has fulfilled all the three indicators, unlike other nations those are also in the queue to graduate from the LDC status.  

“The amazing transformation of Bangladesh in the area of economy and the socio-economic dimensions is simply mind-boggling. My own interpretation of this transformation boils down to the fact that it has been possible due to the aspirations of inclusive development we all shared in 1971,” Prof Atiur Rahman said talking to media on Saturday. 

Prof Atiur also stressed the need for ensuring good governance and technological transformation to sustain the growth momentum to complete the graduation into a developing country within the next few years.

 “We will have to be focused on good governance and technological transformation in the coming days.

Bangladesh has reached a new height through attaining the graduation criteria. Let's try to make the progress sustainable,” he said.

The former Bangladesh Bank governor expressed hope that Bangladesh will continue to grow into a developed country mainly because of its strong base of inclusive economy and society.

Zaid Bakht, chairman of Agrani Bank, said Bangladesh has been moving forward despite many drawbacks. “So we should focus on sustaining the growth,” he said.

Mentioning that once the country gets out of the LDC bloc in 2024, it will lose access to some trade privileges and foreign aids, Zaid Bakht said the government must strengthen domestic economy and socio-economic development. 

“We have already proven our capacity in RMG exports to the US without the GSP facility. There are some challenges in other markets. The authorities should ensure equity in society as the development funds are expected to be shifted to the African countries,” he said.

Earlier in 2016, Bangladesh’s status was upgraded from low-income country (LIC) to lower-middle income country (LMIC) as per the World Bank's classification.