DHAKA, March 24, 2024 (BSS) - Distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Mustafizur Rahman today said that Bangladesh is doing well in all the indicators to be promoted from the least developed country status to a developing country.

"If everything goes well, by November 2026, Bangladesh will come under the category of a developing country," he said.

Dr Mustafizur was speaking at a roundtable discussion on "The outcome of 13th Ministerial Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE" as the chief discussant organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) at CA Bhaban in the city.
 
Professor Mustafizur Rahman was also the Paper Presenter on the outcome of 13th Ministerial Conference while ICAB President Mohammed Forkan Uddin FCA delivered address of welcome.

He said as a result, being a less developed country, the issue of continuing the benefits such as duty free, quota free access and preferential treatment for some more time should be strongly negotiated.

"Japan, Canada and South Korea have been providing tariff benefits to LDCs, and we need to negotiate with them to continue the benefits, "he added.

Mustafizur said that there are three issues in front of Bangladesh which are less developed country, developing from less developed country, and developing country. "Work should be done keeping in mind the production, efficiency and competitive market. After 2026 with no market access, product diversification will be required to survive. Export trade should be diversified. We need to do more free trade agreement, comprehensive trade agreement,"

Besides, Dr Mustafizur said development of the transport sector should be used to establish economic corridors in the country adding that action must be taken to transform comparative advantage into competitive advantage.
 
In order to get flexibility in fisheries subsidies, he said Bangladesh needs to take steps to negotiate as well as enter into various agreements. "At present, no tariffs are imposed on e-commerce in LDCs. As a result, Bangladesh is avoiding about $40 million in customs duties annually. It should also be discussed here," he said.

Noting that the WTO needs to be reformed, the renowned economist said the United States is not appointing anyone to the appellate department because each country has the power to exercise VETO. The European Union (EU) is operating by setting up an alternative system, he further said.

Professor Mustafizur said that in the last 53 years, 60 countries were promoted from least developed countries (LDC) to developing countries, 15 countries are at different stages of LDC graduation while 5 countries including Bangladesh have fixed time for LDC graduation.

ICAB CEO Shubhashish Bose also spoke on the occasion. The other discussants were Md. Hafizur Rahman, Member, Competition Commission, Md. Al Amin Pramanik, Economic Minister, Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland; Mohammad Mashooqur Rahman Sikder, Joint Secretary (WTO Section-2), Ministry of Commerce; Dr. Mostafa Abid Khan, Component Manager, LDC Graduation Project, Economic Relations Division (ERD); ICAB former President Md. Shahadat Hossain, Nesar Ahmed , International Trade Expert, Support to Sustainable Graduation Project, Economic Relations Division (ERD); and Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce;. Manzur Ahmed, Advisor, The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI); Ferdaus Ara Begum , Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD);Dr. Shishir Kumar Dev, Former CEO, BFTI; Zakir Hossain, Associate Editor, The Daily Samakal; Mohammad Refayet Ullah Mirdha, President of Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF); and S M Rashidul Islam, Senior Reporter of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Dhaka.

ICAB President Mohammed Forkan Uddin said that WTO is an alternative dispute or mediation entity which upholds the international rules of trade.

The 13th Ministerial Conference was very important as Bangladesh is set to graduate out of the group of least developed countries (LDCs) on November 2026, he added.

"We need to think about the situation after LDC graduation, in terms of preferential market access, preferential treatment for services and service suppliers and special treatment regarding obligations and flexibilities under WTO rules," Forkan added.

He said the Ministerial Conference approved a two-year extension of the E-Commerce moratorium. "Even if we lose some revenue, it will help in implementing the government's Smart Bangladesh Vision by 2041," he added.

For Bangladesh, the ICAB president said the decision on fisheries subsidies holds crucial relevance as Bangladesh is a major fishing country in the world. "Agricultural subsidies are important for our food security. Despite being a net importer of food and agricultural products, Bangladesh is yet to be included in the category of Net Food Importing Countries. There was no agreement on agriculture at MC13. Bangladesh also has concerns regarding export restrictions by other countries."

Manzur Ahmed said that foreign trade should be integrated through regional agreements, bilateral agreements and some alternative commercial agreements. "In future Bangladesh needs to pay particular attention to the implementation of multilateral trade in terms of reality." He added.