On July 25 the Department of Economics at North South University organised a seminar titled 'Bangladesh's Graduation from the Least Developed Countries Group: Opportunities and Challenges'. As evident from the title, the seminar was purposed with the dissemination and discussion of valuable information on Bangladesh's transition out of Least Developed Country status by eminent personalities who are experts in economic policy and developmental fields.
Bangladesh was the largest least-developed country regarding population and size of the economy and met the UN criteria for graduation for the first time in March 2018. This momentous achievement is not only one of national prides but the tremendous contextual importance in understanding the growth of Bangladesh. The discussion, therefore, aimed to discuss the accomplishment in detail--highlighting the process of graduation, the criteria upon which it was fruitful as well as the less conventionally addressed challenges and drawbacks of it. The seminar also encouraged student participation in the form of a Question and Answer session which cleared out any lingering confusions on the issue.
The seminar was attended by chief guest Dr. Mashiur Rahman, who is the economic affairs advisor to the Prime Minister. The speakers of the seminar were: Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Sudipto Mukerjee, country director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Dr. Zahid Hussain, lead economist, World Bank.
MA Hashem-chairman, Board of Trustees, Benajir Ahmed- member, Board of Trustees, Md Shajahan-member, Board of Trustees, Professor Atique Islam- vice-chancellor, Dr. G U Ahsan- pro vice-chancellor and dean of School of Health and Life Sciences, and Professor Dr. Mohammad Mahboob Rahman-dean of the School of Business and Economics were present.