Bangladesh is on the precipice of achieving one of its biggest goals since our independence: Graduation away from being the least developed country (LDC) grouping.
Our country has been able to defy all odds and exceed all expectations in its march to becoming a middle-income nation, and although shedding our LDC status means new opportunities are in the offing for us it also means an entirely new set of challenges that we will need to contend with as we move forward.
To that end, a few key challenges were addressed at a meeting conducted by the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute related to commerce and trade, points such as export diversification and making Bangladesh a more attractive destination for foreign investment.
That Bangladesh is in desperate need for a diverse export basket has been well known for years now. While our economy has been served extremely well by the readymade garment industry and our continued partnerships with other nations in employing Bangladeshi workers, we need to explore newer avenues for export in order to ensure that our graduation goes as smoothly as possible.
To that end, we agree with the handful of new industries that Bangladesh could consider when it comes to export diversification as identified by the discussants, from light engineering, plastic products, leather and leather-based products, and non-leather footwear.
Our economy has been on an inexorable march for the better part of the last decade, and it is clear that the only way that this march can be slowed down is through the actions of forces beyond our control. But that does not mean we need to rest on our laurels. There are still plenty of issues under our direct control that we need to address to ensure our graduation from the LDC tag.
We have come far too long to show any signs of slowing down.