Bangladesh to graduate from LDC status in 2026, says press secretary

The government has decided not to defer the deadline for Bangladesh's graduation from a least developed country, or LDC, to a developing country.

At an advisory council’s meeting chaired by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday, it took the final decision to withdraw from LDC status next year, according to schedule.

Press Secretary to the Chief Advisor Shafiqul Alam confirmed the matter at a media briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka following the meeting.

He says the advisory council has decided that Bangladesh will graduate from LDC status in 2026. For this, the chief advisor has directed the authorities to prepare from now on to meet the challenges that will come afterwards.

This will further enhance the status of Bangladesh, the press secretary added.

The deadline for Bangladesh's transition from LDCs is Nov 24, 2026.

The interim government had previously considered further postponing the deadline.

Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, the new special assistant to the chief advisor in the finance ministry, spoke on the issue at a briefing at the Secretariat on Tuesday.