The country鈥檚 private sector businesses have urged for deferring Bangladesh鈥檚 LDC graduation for at least 2 to 3 years, considering the prevailing global and local economic challenges, including a shortage of energy, high inflation, high interest rates and complexities in obtaining credit from banks.
They were speaking at a focus group discussion on 鈥業mplementation of the STS for Smooth Transition from LDC Status鈥� jointly organised by the Support to Sustainable Graduation Project, the Economic Relations Division and the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday in the capital Dhaka, according to a DCCI press release.
DCCI president Taskeen Ahmed presented a keynote paper and said that GDP growth in the first quarter of the current financial year was only 1.8 percent, while the manufacturing sector鈥檚 growth was only 1.43 percent.
He said that Bangladesh鈥檚 economy was still facing various challenges and amid these challenges, Bangladesh would be graduating from a least developed country to a developing on in 2026.
Regarding the 鈥楽mooth Transition Strategy,鈥� he recommended developing a roadmap to stabilise the economy, creating a real-time monitoring and evaluation platform, signing free trade agreement with key partners and aligning trade, industrial and investment policies.
He also urged the signing of FTA with new export destinations and implementing policies for export diversification.
Speaking as chief guest, ERD secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky said that they needed to build capacity at all levels to deal with the impact of the loss of trade benefits in the post-LDC era.
In this regard, he said, a committee will be formed with representatives of trade organisations to determine the private sector鈥檚 needs and find solutions.
Commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman said that proper planning and implementation from the beginning were lacking to meet the challenges of LDC graduation, but based on the private sector鈥檚 opinion, more attention should be paid to a sustainable LDC graduation process.
He called upon the private sector to focus on product diversification in the RMG sector and on its promising packaging area.
Rizwan Rahman, former DCCI president, said that the country鈥檚 businessmen were not yet ready for the LDC graduation, so the government should make a decision in consultation with the private sector.
Manwar Hossain, chairman of Anwar Group of Industries, said that until the country鈥檚 exports surpassed its import figures, it could be said that it was not ready for graduation in the real sense.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Mohammad Hatem said that the private sector needed time to prepare for graduation.
Government officials, business leaders and other stakeholders also spoke at the event.
