UN body refers Bangladesh's 3-year LDC extension request to General Assembly

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has recommended that the UN General Assembly (UNGA) take a final decision on the requests by Bangladesh and Nepal for a three-year extension of their preparatory period for graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.

The recommendation came after Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, ambassador and Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the UN, tabled the request for an extension on behalf of Bangladesh and Nepal at a council meeting of member states in New York on July 21.

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He outlined the rationale for the extension requests, according to a press release.

Bangladesh, along with Nepal and Lao PDR, is scheduled to graduate from the LDC category in November. However, due to unprecedented political, macroeconomic, environmental, and external shocks, Bangladesh and Nepal have requested a three-year extension of their preparatory period until November 2029.

The UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) had earlier recommended approving Bangladesh’s request to defer its graduation from the LDC category from November 2026 to November 2029.

The latest meeting of ECOSOC suggested that the UNGA take a final decision before November 24, 2026. The UNGA session is scheduled to begin on September 8.