Participants speaking during the 9th Meeting of the National Taskforce on LDC Graduation

The 9h meeting of the National Task Force on Bangladesh’s Graduation from the Least Developed Country Status was held on 07 January 2020 through online.

Principal Coordinator (SDG Affairs) of the Prime Minister’s Office Ms. Zuena Aziz chaired the meeting.

Member (Senior Secretary) of the General Economics Division (GED) Dr. Shamsul Alam, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Masud Bin Momen, Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Dr. Md. Jafar Uddin, Secretary of the Economic Relations Division Ms. Fatima Yasmin, Secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division Mr. Mohammad Yamin Chowdhury and President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Mr. Sheikh Fazle Fahim were also present in the meeting.

High officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and other relevant ministries attended the meeting.

It is notable that the next triennial review of the Committee for Development Policy of the United Nations is scheduled to take place in February 2021. Bangladesh is looking to be recommended for LDC graduation by CDP during that triennial review.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the upcoming Triennial Review, an expert group meeting (EGM) of the CDP is expected to take place on 8-15 January 2021.

In this context, the meeting reviewed Bangladesh’s preparation for the upcoming Expert Group Meeting.

The meeting also reviewed the progress of various initiatives taken by the government in preparing for smooth and sustainable graduation.

While graduating from the Least Developed Country status is a major achievement for any nation, this remarkable feat also comes with its own set of opportunities and challenges.

In this context, the government formed a National Task Force under the leadership of the Prime Minister’s Office for steering and guiding the process of sustainable graduation of the country.

Secretaries and high officials of different relevant ministries and agencies like the Prime Minister’s Office, General Economics Division (GED), Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Statistics and Informatics Division, Commerce Ministry, Finance Division, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) are already members of this Task Force.

This was the fifth time that the National Task Force sat together over the last one year. The earlier meeting of the task force took place on 26 November 2020.

In light of the upcoming triennial review of the Committee for Development Policy, it was earlier decided that the NTF meetings would take place on a monthly basis.

The NTF is also likely to co-opt new members as the country move towards formulating a transition strategy for coping with the post-graduation scenario.