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The interim government is committed to ensuring on-time graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status, for which a number of expert committees are working, said Dr. Monzur Hossain, a member of General Economic Division of the Planning Commission.
"The decision so far is to continue the implementation of the programmes required to facilitate the graduation from the LDC. A high-level expert committee, a steering committee led by the Chief Adviser and a committee under the Principal Secretary, among others, are working on the issue," he said.
He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled "Bi-annual Economic State & Future outlook of Bangladesh Economy: Private Sector Perspective" organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) at the DCCI auditorium in the city's Motijheel area on Sunday.
Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr. A K Enamul Haque, Director (Research) of Monetary Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Mahmud Salahuddin Naser, another BB Director of SME & Special Programmes Department Nawshad Mustafa, and Economics Officer of South Asia Department at Asian Development Bank (ADB) Md. Rabiul Islam also spoke.
Dr. Monzur Hossain further said a stakeholder's conference might be held next month or later to gather feedback from different organisations. The next government may take the final decision on the LDC graduation, he said, adding that necessary preparations, however, should continue in the meantime.
He said that different economic indicators, including balance of payment, forex reserve and inflation, have improved over the past months following the regime change last year though some challenges still prevail. He said that rising rice prices is still a cause for concern. "If we can control the rice prices, we believe the inflation would come down significantly," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mustafizur Rahman said stakeholders should not compromise on necessary preparations, regardless of when Bangladesh graduates from LDC status.
"We may apply (to defer the graduation), but I personally believe that there should be no lack in our preparations," he said, adding that several technical issues with the application procedure for deferring the LDC graduation need to be considered.
He also highlighted the need to enhance competitiveness and sign free trade agreements with various countries. Regarding the country's economic situation, he said although inflation has declined, overall price levels still remain high, eroding consumers' purchasing power.
He said that the country's RMG sector has thrived due to bonded warehouse and back-to-back LC facilities. He underscored the importance of extending the same facilities to other promising export sectors which would expand Bangladesh's export basket. He also raised concern over the lack of strong anti-corruption measures and the slow pace of digitisation, which has contributed to low tax-to-GDP ratio.
In his keynote presentation, DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed said Bangladesh should defer graduation for at least three years to boost competitiveness, implement a robust transition strategy, and update relevant policies. Shedding light on the economic situation, Taskeen Ahmed said private investment dropped to 22.48 per cent of GDP in FY 2025, the lowest in the last five years.
To restore investors' confidence, he emphasised the importance of ensuring stability in the banking sector as well as political stability, and removing bureaucratic bottlenecks, which would improve the ease of doing business.
Dr. A K Enamul Haque said the economy is performing relatively well considering the strong headwinds, but it is not ideal for long-term sustainability.
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