UN To Support Independent Assessment On Bangladesh's LDC Graduation Readiness

United Nations Under-Secretary-General Rabab Fatima has confirmed that her office will support an independent readiness assessment for Bangladesh’s graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, following a formal request from the interim government.

Fatima, who also serves as the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, made the announcement during a meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his hotel on Monday.

She noted that the readiness assessment will begin within a month and be completed by mid-January. To ensure a comprehensive and balanced review, it will be conducted jointly by an international consultant and a Bangladeshi expert.

The process will include wide-ranging consultations with key stakeholders—government officials, business chambers, development experts, civil society leaders, donors, financial institutions, and political representatives—to evaluate whether Bangladesh is adequately prepared for the transition.

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus welcomed the initiative, stressing the importance of empirical evidence before moving forward with graduation. “It has become an emotional issue,” he said, underlining the need for objective data in shaping policy.

In response, Fatima highlighted that the UN’s latest economic data on Bangladesh is more than two years old. “A lot has changed since then,” she remarked, underscoring the urgency of reassessing the country’s current economic landscape to make an informed decision.

Prof Yunus also raised concerns over the future of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry, which has long benefited from LDC-related trade preferences. He cautioned that graduation could put the sector at risk without adequate transition measures.

Fatima, the highest-ranking Bangladeshi-origin UN official, has served as Under-Secretary-General since 2022. She also shared insights from her UN career, while Prof Yunus expressed interest in exploring career opportunities for Bangladeshi civil servants in UN bodies to deepen the country’s global engagement.

The meeting was attended by SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, and Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury.

Briefing reporters later, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said the assessment would play a vital role in determining Bangladesh’s preparedness for graduation. He added that the UN-backed independent review is set to start within a month and conclude in January.