India happy with Bangladesh’s success

India is happy to note Bangladesh’s graduation from least develop country (LDC) status recommended by the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) and will continue to support it on its growth trajectory, the Ministry of External Affairs has said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, at a recent joint press conference with Foreign Minister of Bangladesh in Dhaka, expressed admiration and pride at the country’s graduation from LDC status, said Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson, MEA, at the weekly media briefing on Friday (March 5).

“We will continue to support and partner with Bangladesh on their growth trajectory,” he said. On whether India will continue to offer trade concessions to Bangladesh that have been given to the country under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) owing to its LDC status, the Spokesperson said that these were greatly appreciated by the neighbouring country.

“During recent India-Bangladesh virtual summit, (Bangladesh) PM Sheikh Hasina had appreciated quota free duty free access that we have been providing goods from the country since 2011 under Safta, he said.

The United Nations CDP has recommended graduation of Bangladesh from the category of LDC as it has fulfilled three eligibility criteria in terms of per capita income, human assets and economic and environmental vulnerability.

The country has been given a five-year time period, till 2026, to complete its transition instead of the usual three years due to the Covid-19 disruptions._The Hindu BusinessLine