Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has urged the global development and trading partners to extend support for Bangladesh during its graduation to a developing nation status.
He said, "A growing number of LDCs (Least Developed Countries) are meeting the graduation threshold including Bangladesh."
"It is important to bring the vulnerabilities during transition period into the mainstream sustainable development discourse."
He was speaking at the general debate of the high-level political forum on Sustainable Development on Tuesday (Bangladesh time) at the United Nations in New York.
AHM Mustafa Kamal
Mr Kamal is representing the Bangladesh government on behalf of the LDC, Planning Ministry spokesperson Gazi Towhidul Islam said.
Mr Kamal said the LDCs are highly vulnerable and exposed to various kinds of shocks and crises, including those related to environment and climate change.
He urged the global community to reinvigorate efforts at all levels for mobilising resources and technical capacities to help build resilience against shocks and adapt to changed circumstances.
Referring to an IMF report, the minister expressed his concern over global higher debt-GDP ratio.
This kind of increased global debt scenario can bring back the global recession with unemployment, increased commodity prices and other adverse situation for the LDCs and newly graduated economies, he feared.
According to the IMF, the global debt has increased to US$164 trillion or 225 per cent of the total world GDP.
Mr Kamal said that economic globalisation is being under threat because of the inward-looking and protectionist tendencies in some developed countries' policies, especially, in trade policy.
He urged the global community to be aware of the growth in anti-globalisation thinking, which will hurt the LDCs most.
The minister said the LDCs and newly-graduated economies are facing "serious threat" from different directions, including increased debt burden, lesser amount of ODA and other impediments to expanding trade.
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