A visiting United Nations assessment team in Dhaka has called on Bangladeshi businesses to prepare a detailed roadmap for the Smooth Transition Strategy (STS) to ensure the country’s sustainable graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
During a meeting on Sunday, business leaders informed the delegation that while the STS had already been formulated, implementation progress remained slow, and full execution within the next year appeared unlikely. They emphasised that Bangladesh would need at least five additional years to complete the necessary preparations for a smooth transition.
According to meeting sources, the UN team sought to understand the private sector’s challenges and requested a comprehensive roadmap outlining how the STS could be implemented if a time extension were granted.
Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, President of the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), said the business community had conveyed to the UN delegation that only a small portion of the STS had been implemented so far and that adequate preparation for graduation was still lacking. He added that Bangladesh continued to rely heavily on a single export product—ready-made garments—and a few key markets.
Ehsan stated that the UN team had requested a five-year roadmap from the private sector to be submitted soon. Representatives from the ready-made garment industry, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), and other major trade organisations attended the discussions.
The meetings, held at the UN House in Gulshan, were led by Roland Mollerus, Director of the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). The three-member delegation is visiting Dhaka to conduct an independent assessment of Bangladesh’s readiness for LDC graduation and will also meet government officials and political leaders during the visit.
In a statement, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said it had presented several key challenges during the meeting. Mahmud Hasan Khan, President of BGMEA, noted that the apparel industry faced rising operational costs and infrastructure constraints at a critical juncture in the country’s LDC graduation process.
He highlighted that exporters were contending with logistical inefficiencies, including a 41% increase in Chattogram port charges in October 2025 and continued delays in transportation, both of which affected competitiveness. Khan also pointed out that a 60% cut in cash incentives, without compensatory support, had significantly heightened economic vulnerability in the export-oriented sector, following the 2023 wage hike and a 9% annual increment introduced last year.
The BGMEA president further underscored broader macroeconomic challenges, citing slower GDP growth, inflation exceeding 8%, a tax-to-GDP ratio of 6.6%, and foreign exchange reserves of $27.5 billion (as per BPM6) as indicators of the difficult economic landscape confronting the country ahead of its LDC graduation.
