UN urged to assist in addressing post-LDC challenges

UN Resident Coordinator Ms Gwyn Lewis had a meeting with ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman at ICC Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday, says a statement.

At the meeting, Ms Lewis was briefed about the activities of ICC HQs and ICC Bangladesh. They discussed the challenges to be faced by Bangladesh after its graduation to Middle-Income country in 2026.

ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman said that the relationship between Bangladesh and the United Nations started during the initial stage of Bangladesh's liberation war in 1971.

Mr Rahman mentioned that Bangladesh has set out an ambitious journey path to transform into a Smart-Bangladesh High-Income Country by 2041, as delineated in its Perspective Plan (2021-2041). The plan for achieving the vision -- the Perspective Plan 2021-2041 -- defines the targets: achieving Upper-Middle Income Country Status and eliminating extreme poverty by 2031, and eradicating poverty altogether while achieving High-Income Country status by 2041.

As part of this trajectory, Bangladesh has fully committed to achieving the SDGs, and embraced the Secretary-General's call for a "Decade of Action" to accelerate progress toward the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, he added.

The ICCB President urged the UN Resident Coordinator to extend all-out assistance and cooperation to Bangladesh to overcome the challenges after the LDC graduation.

He said that UN agencies have been supporting the government in various projects in the field of sustainable development solutions, poverty alleviation, disaster management, peace, good governance, police reform, human rights, environment, climate change, reproductive health, family planning etc.

Over the next five years, he said, progress towards this ambitious political, economic, and social development vision will be delivered through the 8th Five-Year Plan.

This medium-term development strategy comes at a time when Bangladesh looks to promote a strong and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, sustain and build on its economic growth, and put the country on track to achieve the SDGs, Middle-Income Country Status, and the elimination of extreme poverty by 2030-31, Mr. Rahman noted.

In response, UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Gwyn Lewis said that the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework ("Cooperation Framework") represents the UN development systems' collective response to support Bangladesh in addressing key development priorities and challenges to the achievement of the objectives of the 8th Five-Year Plan, leading to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, its SDGs, and the Perspective Plan for 2041.

The UN looks forward to working jointly with the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh in addressing various development issues, she added.

Considering the potential change in the development finance landscape due to Bangladesh's graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) category in 2026, the UN has placed a particular emphasis on development effectiveness through different instruments in the Cooperation Framework, which will complement the public financial management efforts of different international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, she added.

ICCB Vice President A. K. Azad said Bangladesh stands to lose a number of international support measures associated with LDC status, namely preferential market access under LDC-specific schemes.

Bangladeshi garment exporters rely on the European Union's 'Everything But Arms (EBA)' scheme for duty-free, quota-free access to the region's markets, he said, adding that any measures to extend or replace EBA could prove critical in smoothing the transition. He sought UN's support in this regard.

ICCB Vice President Naser Ezaz Bijoy said the climate change impact is posing a severe threat to Bangladesh's agriculture as well as to the overall economy. As a result, annual GDP is likely to shrink by 1.0 to 2.0 per cent.

Required investment is crucial as investment of US $ 1.2 billion within 2030 could save $11.6 billion by 2030, he added.

He urged more UN investments and programmes designed to assist Bangladesh in climate adaptation.

During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between United Nations Global Compact Network Bangladesh (UN-GCNB) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh.

The purpose of the MoU is to ensure growth and value addition of Sustainability Projects countrywide through Private Sector engagement for future market development, to facilitate and empower members of the ICC in accessing global networks and resources through UN-GC platforms on Sustainable business practices; and to provide capacity building/training to support the sustainability journeys in the private sector of Bangladesh.

The meeting was also attended by ICCB Executive Board Members Abdul Hai Sarkar and Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parvez); UN Global Compact Executive Director Asia Pacific & Ocenia Shahamin S. Zaman, ICCB Banking Commission Chairman Muhammad A. (Rumee) Ali, ICCB Secretary General Ataur Rahman, former Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Md. Ahsan Ullah; UN Senior Development Coordinator Officer and Strategic Planner Louise Barber and Development Coordination Officer/Economist Md. Mazedul Islam; UN Global Compact Network Bangladesh Coordinator Stakeholder Engagements Juliana Awo Quist Lawson; ICCB General Manager Ajay Bihari Saha and Deputy General Manager Syeda Shahnewaz Lotika.