Reception to PM March 22 on country’s entry to developing group

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be accorded a reception on Bangladesh's entry to the developing country category from the group of LDCs.

"The reception will be accorded on March 22 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC)," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told a meeting today at his ministry, BSS reported.

The home ministry organised the meeting to draw a plan to celebrate the significant achievement of the government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A committee has also been formed to celebrate the achievement at all districts.

The home minister told the meeting that the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) would declare Bangladesh's entry to the list of the developing countries from its current LDC status.

He said apart from arranging the reception, a jubilant procession will be brought out in the capital on the same day. Similar rallies will also be organised across the country from March 22-28 when ministries will display the government's achievements in different sectors.

The minister said tight security measures would be taken in the city for ensuring security and safety during the celebration.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in a report projected that Bangladesh would qualify primarily to graduate from the LDCs list in March.

Bangladesh will get the full status of a developing state in 2024 provided that the country maintains the thresholds in three graduation criteria - per capita income, a human assets index and an economic vulnerability index.

According to the UN's graduation thresholds, gross national income (GNI) per capita of a country should be $1,242 or above. Bangladesh's GNI per capita was $1,610 at the end of 2016-17 financial year.

For the human assets index, a country must score 66 or above and for economic vulnerability index 32 or below. The country's scored 70 and 26 in the two indices respectively.