LDC transition a scope to be accustomed to global competition: Experts

The transition period of the least developed country (LDC) should be used to make Bangladesh accustomed to global competition, said experts and stakeholders at a national dialogue on LDC graduation.  

They said formulation of an effective Smooth Transition Strategy (STS) is now very crucial for Bangladesh as the country has received the final recommendation to graduate from the LDC category in 2026. 

"Bangladesh is the biggest economy among the countries graduating from LDC status. If the country wants access to foreign technologies, intellectual property laws need to be bolstered. Reform in policy, regulation, and infrastructure is required for the country to become a high-income country in the future," Mahesh Mishra, head of prosperity and economic growth team of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office at British High Commission, said in the dialogue. 

A total of three roundtable discussions was held under the dialogue organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) on Monday at Hotel Intercontinental. These are "Preparedness for smooth and sustainable LDC graduation," "LDC graduation and effective development cooperation" and "LDC graduation: Opportunities and challenges for commerce and trade".

Mercy Miyang Tembon, country director (Bangladesh and Bhutan) of World Bank, emphasised the need for trade competitiveness. In order to become more competitive, she suggested policy action such as tariff rationalisation and accelerating the processing speed of institutions. 

She stressed the need to engage the private sector to facilitate national development. 

Bangladesh has received the final recommendation by the Committee for Development Policy of the United Nations (UN-CDP) in February 2021 to graduate from the LDC category in 2026. 

The period 2021-2026 is the preparatory time for Bangladesh for formulation and implementation of a STS to mitigate the challenges and ensure sustainable graduation.    

Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of CPD, said Bangladesh needs to take a stance while discussing trade deals with the World Trade Organisation. 

"It will help a lot if Bangladesh manages to get some duty free access to international markets after graduating. However, Bangladesh should still look to strengthen its institutions to be capable of competing without relying on preference-based trade."

"An economy cannot be devoid of society". Such was the tone of the discourse set by Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, former minister for planning, information, science and ICT and also a national standing committee member of BNP. 

The former minister stated that there are three technical indexes a nation must fulfil to get recommended for graduation. 

"The index goals are in the Gross National Income index, the Human Assets Index, and the Economic Vulnerability Index. However, all these international criteria are flawed in terms of concept when it comes to Bangladesh." 

"An economy cannot be devoid of society, and the most important criteria for graduation is the criteria of democracy," he added. 

Sheikh Shahidul Islam, former education minister, said, "We are still underprepared for LDC. Most of the preparations are only on paper and we should start our journey right now. Otherwise, we will be left behind." 

"Bangladesh does not have the technology or preparation for the 4th industrial revolution. Universities have not updated their curriculum, so we do not have skilled labour to operate cutting-edge technologies," he added.

Observing that instead of least developed countries, we should have been called most exploited countries, chief guest of the event Planning Minister MA Mannan highlighted the remarkable growth of Bangladesh since independence, stating how the nation overcame lack of electricity and abject starvation, to now graduate LDC. 

"There is income disparity in Bangladesh, but there is no country in the world where there is no disparity. The government's strategy is to raise the whole economy, so that the bottom line is raised as well," he said. 

"While neighbouring countries experienced negative GDP growth, Bangladesh is still securing positive GDP growth," he added.  

Regarding the discussion of what comes first, development or good governance, the minister said, "Good governance for Bangladesh is a pie in the sky. Significant development needs to come first before we arrive at that destination."

Professor Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, chairman at Development Studies at Dhaka University stated that Covid-19 has created several economic constraints on Bangladesh's path to becoming a developed country, which could be an obstacle to achieving Bangladesh's development goals from a least developed country. 

"Our country has technical limitations. There is a consumer shortage. At the same time, the contribution of the private sector to the economy of Bangladesh is more or less the same every year," he said.

FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin highlighted some opportunities in international trade that Bangladesh can take advantage of, such as a Free Trade Agreement with Germany.

Yuji Ando, country representative of Japan External Trade Organisation, said, "Once a Free Trade Agreement is signed, we hope that trade between Japan and Bangladesh will increase. Before that, smooth administrative support must be ensured."

Zillur Rahman, executive director of the CGS delivered the welcome speech at the event.