Bangladesh is on the cusp of finally shedding its tag as a Least Developed Country (LDC) and stepping into the realm of developing nations. However, as has been widely discussed, that switch comes with a host of new challenges that the government must contend with, and while the signs of a relatively smooth transition are apparent, the administration needs to be more transparent about how it plans to approach these challenges.
The Asian Development Board’s recent statements regarding our graduation offer some encouragement to this end, relaying its observations that Bangladesh has been making the right preparations which could ensure a painless graduation, not limited to adequately dealing with the financing and market access challenges, while the firm’s pledge of support during this period is another reassurance.
However, there are still a host of areas which the administration needs to improve before our nation’s graduation: Areas such as our miasmatic business climate, our stagnant export basket which is terminally incapable of looking beyond RMG, the many challenges which arise from Bangladesh being an especially climate vulnerable country, our private sector not being afforded the support they need, and many more.
These are all issues which, unless dealt with in a timely manner, will absolutely come back to bite us after graduation.
It is quite a feat that a nation that was birthed through a bloody war for independence, one that dealt with a historic famine and political instability soon after, was able to achieve the kind of growth and prosperity as Bangladesh has in only five decades.
Bangladesh’s graduation to developing nation is the next frontier in its immediate goal of becoming a middle income economy. As such, we must take every precaution available -- being more transparent about our graduation schemes should be first on the list.
