Bangladesh sought a three-year extension to its preparation period for graduation from the least developed country category and called for stronger international support to ensure a smooth, sustainable and stable transition during separate bilateral meetings with senior officials of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Commerce minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir raised the issue on Friday during meetings with the ECOSOC president and Nepal’s permanent representative to the United Nations, ambassador Lok Bahadur Thapa, and ECOSOC vice-president and Algeria’s permanent representative, ambassador Amar Bendjama, at the UN headquarters in New York, said a ministry press release on Saturday.

During the meetings, Muktadir explained the government’s rationale for seeking an additional three years to prepare for LDC graduation.

He said Bangladesh had been unable to fully utilise the original preparation period due to ongoing economic and political transitions, global economic uncertainty, the energy crisis, supply chain disruptions, the multidimensional impacts of climate change and other external challenges.

Reaffirming Bangladesh’s commitment to graduating from the LDC category, the minister said the request was not intended to delay graduation but to ensure a smooth, sustainable and stable transition.

He said the additional time would allow Bangladesh to consolidate structural reforms, strengthen governance, restore macroeconomic stability, reinforce the financial sector, improve the investment climate, upgrade infrastructure and effectively implement the country’s Smooth Transition Strategy.

The ECOSOC president and vice-president acknowledged the global challenges facing countries graduating from the LDC category and expressed their commitment to working closely with Bangladesh to support its smooth, sustainable, and stable transition, the press release said.

The Bangladesh delegation included prime minister’s finance and planning adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, state minister for planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, Economic Relations Division secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the United Nations ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh president Syed Nasim Manzur and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Mahmud Hasan Khan.