LDC graduation: Three more years to finish homework

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

64% : Such deferrals, the EU said, are "exceptional time-bound measures," not a departure from the established graduation criteria.
60% : When LDC preferences fade, Bangladesh will need the EU's GSP+ scheme, which comes with core conditions on labour rights, human rights, the environment and governance.
59% : Bangladesh, by contrast, passes all three of the UN's graduation tests, on income, health and education, and economic vulnerability, by a comfortable margin.
59% : Bangladesh must now show progress on these reforms and report it to the UN every year.
58% : The EU also said the extra time must come with "concrete, measurable domestic actions, effective monitoring and continued engagement.
57% : Bangladesh spent months lobbying countries, flying delegations to New York and courting the members of the UN's Economic and Social Council.
57% : It cited "the lingering effects of the pandemic, climate-related disasters, geopolitical conflicts and disruptions to international trade and energy supplies," plus jitters over migrant jobs, remittances and tourism.
56% : The European Union, which buys more Bangladeshi clothes than anyone, said it supported the extension.
55% : At the UN in July, Bangladesh promised to use any extension to shore up economic stability, raise domestic revenue, fix the financial sector, build productive capacity and diversify exports.
54% : The government should now publish a credible, year-by-year plan to lift the tax take, starting with the exemptions and special treatments that mostly benefit the rich.
50% : It reminded everyone that, under the UN's own rules, "domestic political transitions do not constitute grounds for extending preparatory periods," before conceding that Bangladesh's recent upheaval might merit some consideration.
49% : Rahman has asked the UN to come to that meeting with a map of how graduating countries are faring on wider development goals, not just whether they clear the statistical bar, and has suggested the findings inform a rethink of the rules for leaving the group.
48% : A state that collects so little tax will struggle to support industry in other ways or to pay the higher cost of borrowing.
47% : Next year the UN will hold a mid-term review of the Doha Programme of Action, its ten-year plan for the world's poorest countries.
46% : The UN's Committee for Development Policy said as much, and backed the delay only if Bangladesh makes "significant progress" on reform.
45% : Its tax take is among the lowest in the world for a country of its size and income.
40% : The UN General Assembly, without a vote or a single objection, pushed Bangladesh's exit from the list of least developed countries to November 24, 2029.

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