B Mirror Desk : Sixteen of the country’s top business and industry organizations have demanded that Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) list be postponed by another three to five years. While the organizations have been making this demand separately so far, they have now put forward this proposal together.

The leaders of the organizations presented this joint demand titled ‘Challenges to Transition from LDC’ at a press conference held at a hotel in the capital on Sunday (August 24).

The press conference was chaired by Mahbubur Rahman, President of the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh (ICCB). He said, “We welcome the transition from LDC. However, an additional three to five years is needed for a successful and sustainable transition.”

It is worth noting that, according to the UN decision, Bangladesh will graduate from LDC on November 24, 2026. That means there is only 15 months left. Business leaders consider this period to be insufficient.

The organizations that have jointly demanded the postponement of the LDC transition are: ICCB, FBCCI, BCI, BTMA, DCCI, BAB, BAPI, MCCI, BIA, BAPLC, CCCI, BGMEA, BKMEA, LFMEAB, FICCI and Bangladesh Semiconductor Industry Association.

Mahbubur Rahman said that postponing the transition has become necessary for at least five important reasons.
These include:

Time to secure free trade agreements (FTAs) with the European Union, the United Kingdom, ASEAN, and Gulf countries to offset the loss of US tariff benefits.

Diversify exports into pharmaceuticals, IT, leather, agro-processing and light engineering sectors.

Developing a skilled workforce suitable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, so that we can compete in technologies like automation and artificial intelligence.

Preparing to attract quality foreign investment (FDI).

Achieving resilience to global economic instability by addressing climate shocks and strengthening good governance.

He added, “If time is available until 2032, both the private sector and the government will have the opportunity to prepare. We are making this request to the government in unison.”

ICCB Vice Presidents AK Azad and Naser Ejaz Bijoy, MCCI President Kamran T Rahman, DCCI Senior Vice President Rezwanul Chowdhury, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan, BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem, BTMA President Shawkat Aziz Russell, BCI President Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez and Abdul Muktadir of the Pharmaceutical Industry Owners Association were also present at the press conference.

The organizations hope that the government will consider the issue seriously and raise it in discussions with the United Nations.