UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has appointed Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a member to the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP).
Earlier members to the CDP from Bangladesh were eminent economists Prof Nurul Islam, Prof Rehman Sobhan and Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, said the CPD on Sunday, reports UNB.
The appointment was made on recommendation of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
In his personal capacity, Dr Debapriya will serve as a member of 24-member strong CDP for a three-year term (2019-2021).
Established in 1965, the CDP is an independent body under the UN which advises on development cooperation policies in support of the least developed countries (LDCs).
Every three years, the CDP reviews the list of LDCs for inclusion in and graduation from the group.
The current work programme of the CDP also includes rethinking of criteria defining the LDCs and suggesting supportive measures for the graduating LDCs.
The CDP will also be following Bangladesh's progress in the context of its scheduled graduation in 2024.
Debapriya is a globally recognised expert on LDC issues.
He was the Ambassador and Permanente Representative of Bangladesh to WTO and UN office in Geneva and Vienna and the Coordinator of the LDC Group in UN system in Geneva.
He played a leadership role in many high-level negotiations at the WTO.
He has also been the Special Adviser on LDCs to the Secretary-General, Unctad and played an important role in organising the fourth UN Conference on LDC in 2011.
He currently heads two international think tank networks namely LDC IV Monitor and Southern Voice on SDGs. He was also the President of the UNCTAD governing board.
Dr Debapriya's forthcoming edited book, published by Routledge (London) is titled Bangladesh's Graduation from the Least Developed Countries Group: Pitfalls and Promises.