Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said Bangladesh would have to wait for three more years to be recognised as a lower-middle-income country by the United Nations.
Muhith said he was pleased with a World Bank report that acknowledged Bangladesh as a lower-middle-income country, saying: “We are satisfied with the World Bank report.”
“But there is an evaluation committee of the United Nations. They need to formally recognise us as a lower-middle-income country and for this we have to wait three years,” he said.
“Until then, we will get the facilities given to least developed countries,” the finance minister said in reply to a question at his secretariat office yesterday, following a meeting with Bhutanese Finance Minister Namgay Dorji.
“We have not talked to officials of the World Bank in this regard … they acknowledged the matter on their own,” Muhith added.
Muhith described the change in income status as a promotion for Bangladesh. The country has been on the list of least developed countries for four decades.
The World Bank, in a press release on Wednesday, said Bangladesh improved its position from the low-income category to lower-middle-income category this year.
The per capita income in Bangladesh has risen from $1,190 to $1,314, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Meeting with Bhutan finance minister
“We discussed importing hydro-electricity with the Bhutanese finance minister,” Muhith said.
He said electricity grid lines would be set up between Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh to transmit 1,000 MW hydro-electricity from Bhutan.
The finance minister said: “Bilateral trade between the two countries will increase if connectivity is enhanced and infrastructural shortcomings are fixed.”
Bhutan’s finance minister said Bhutan had been the first country to recognise Bangladesh as an independent country.