Published in Asian Age on Sunday, 18 March 2018
Graduation process to developing country begins
Fardaus Mobarok
Bangladesh yesterday started its graduation process from the LDC bloc to a developing country following a landmark UN approval after Dhaka fulfilled all three conditions.
According to the UN’s graduation threshold, the Gross National Income per capita of a country has to be $1,230 or above.
Bangladesh’s GNI per capita is now $1,272. In terms of the Human Assets Index, a country must have a score of 66 or above. Bangladesh’s score is now 72.8 — well above the threshold. In the Economic Vulnerability Index, a country’s score has to be 32 or below. Bangladesh’s score is 25 in the EVI.
Bangladesh is set to celebrate the graduation amid fanfare from March 20 to 25. The UN Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP) handed a letter to that effect to Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN Masud Bin Momen on Friday evening in New York.
Thus Bangladesh’s journey to a Developing Country while is expected to receive the official status by 2024. Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina hailed the achievement, saying Bangladesh is no longer behind. “We have received some great news today.”
“On the birthday of the Father of the Nation, we have received word that our Bangladesh, after so many years of work, has received the UN recognition,” she said.
The UNCDP will review Bangladesh’s progress in 2021, and the country’s official graduation from the LDC category will take place after a three-year transition period. If the country maintains its position in all the three categories for the next six years, it will eventually graduate from the LDC bloc.
Zahid Hussain, World Bank’s lead economist in Dhaka, said “Bangladesh is the only country to have met all the three criteria at the same time for becoming eligible to graduate from the LDC bloc.” It will have to pass two more reviews in 2021 and 2024 to get out of the LDC list. The graduation process has just begun. Progress on the three criteria will have to be sustained to make sure we graduate in 2024,” he added.
“This achievement is a formal international recognition of Bangladesh’s going forward. Earlier in 2015, Bangladesh was promoted from lower-income country to a lower middle-income one. The UN recognition is another milestone towards its development,” Zahid added.
Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said, “Bangladesh will have to learn from the experience of other countries which have already graduated to the developing country.”
“First, it is very important to ensure good governance. Besides, it is necessary to increase infrastructure and boost revenue collection. Public health and education should be improved and to create a conducive environment for private and foreign investment,” he said about challenges for Bangladesh’s getting out of the LDC bloc. Bangladesh has been on the UN Least Developed Countries (LDC) list since 1975.
“The increase of GNI and development of social sectors including health and education has made it easier for the committee to recommend for Bangladesh’s graduation,” said UNCDP Secretariat Chief Roland Mollerus.
Chair of CDP Expert Group, Professor Ocampo, said Bangladesh has an impressive history of success and it has a very dynamic export sector, human asset and significant improvement in education and health sectors.
Though Developing Country status would increase Bangladesh’s bargaining power, the loss of LDC status also comes with a loss in several economic supports and benefits. Economists say that the challenges can be met through proper planning and implementation of policy.
In July 2015 Bangladesh advanced from a lower income country to a lower-middle income country based on the per capita income categories provided by the World Bank.