Govt starts working on LDC graduation extension: Commerce Minister

Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir has said the government has begun working to seek a three-year extension of Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on Wednesday, his first working day in office, the minister said the process to pursue the deferral had already been initiated.

State Minister Md Shariful Alam and Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman were present at the time.

“We want to defer the LDC graduation timeline by three years. We have started working on this from today. Whatever steps are necessary, we will take them,” the minister said.

He added that the initiative would be led by the Ministry of Commerce, while the Economic Relations Division (ERD) would serve as the coordinating body. “We will work closely with the ERD to complete the process quickly,” he said.

Khandaker Abdul Muktadir has been given charge of three economically significant ministries—Commerce, Industries, and Textiles and Jute. This is his first term as a Member of Parliament and his first entry into the cabinet.

Meanwhile, State Minister Md Shariful Alam, a central organising secretary of the BNP and president of the party’s Kishoreganj district unit, will assist in the commerce, industries, and textiles and jute sectors.