Appearing out of LDC, a welcome maneuver from all sides
Bangladesh's graduation from the list of least-developed countries (LDCs) is long overdue. The glad tidings are that the country will graduate having achieved all three criteria.
The countries that had previously graduated did so by satisfying two from the three criteria.
After graduation, Bangladesh will get a grace period to keep availing the trade benefits and other facilities directed at the LDCs under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
However, we must start preparing ourselves instantly to perform in a worldwide economy without those services.
We must be proactive in trade negotiations to get duty concessions bilaterally or within multi-region trade agreements. For instance, Vietnam has efficiently negotiated more than a few such trade agreements.
The increased image of an economy, which is no more an LDC, will help but only if we can put in place policies for exploiting that advantage, specifically for attracting foreign direct investment.
While rejoicing in our graduation from the LDC group, we must be clear about the classification of countries used by various international agencies.
According to the Environment Bank's classification, we've already been elevated from a low-income region to a low-middle profits country. The next step is always to graduate to the high-middle income category.
The UN, along with other affiliated bodies, including the WTO, formally and legally recognise only the LDC status for providing certain facilities. It generally does not possess a formally defined explanation of "developing countries".
The terms "producing country" or "least designed country" result from the academic literature of production economics to contrast using what is called "designed" or "industrialised" countries.
So, simply put, Bangladesh is going to graduate from the LDC category, nonetheless it is definitely and continues to be a developing country in the literature on production economics. For the overseas bodies, the word "developing country" will not serve any practical goal.
Bangladesh has always been a good misfit among LDCs regarding its people size. That was among the reasons why Bangladesh always met among the three graduation criteria, namely that of vulnerability, which will depend mainly on how big is the country.
Unlike different LDCs that mainly export agricultural or different primary products, Bangladesh's key export is a making product, namely garments.
This is why Bangladesh didn't often find common floor with different LDCs in global negotiations. So, the country's coming out of the LDC group will be observed as a welcome maneuver from all sides.
The author can be an economist.
