Description

On March 16, 2018, for the second time in the history of independent Bangladesh, the country has been acknowledged for its achievements in development. The first one was received during 2015, when the country promoted itself according to the World Bank’s “lower middle income” category through raising the Gross National Income. Bangladesh has reached at the zenith of its status, through getting the eligibility for graduation from LDC. The LDC category was primarily introduced by the United Nations in 1971 when there were 25 LDCs. In 2018, the number ticked up to 47. Up until now, only five countries have been able to graduate from the LDC group, including Botswana, Cape Verde, Maldives, Samoa and Equatorial Guinea. Bangladesh happens to be the only country which has met all three criteria’s for graduation including GNI per capita, Human Assets Index and Economic Vulnerability Index. This graduation will bring a lot of opportunities for Bangladesh and quite a few challenges as well. There will be benefits but there will be costs to pay also. Overcoming such challenges would be critical for a smooth graduation process.