Bangladesh unveils five-year trade reform roadmap ahead of LDC graduation

As Bangladesh moves closer to graduating from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category, the government has launched an ambitious five-year roadmap aimed at strengthening trade capacity, attracting investment and sharpening the country's competitiveness in global markets to ensure a smooth post-LDC transition.

The programme will be implemented through the Country Programme Document (CPD) under the third phase of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), a World Trade Organization (WTO)-supported initiative that helps LDCs build sustainable trade capacity and integrate more effectively into the global trading system.

Commerce Secretary Ataur Rahman Khan unveiled the initiative while addressing a validation workshop on the Country Programme Document at the Ministry of Commerce on Sunday in the city, describing the coming years as a decisive period for Bangladesh's economy.

"The economy is passing through a critical phase. While Bangladesh is preparing for LDC graduation, it must also overcome non-tariff barriers, meet increasingly stringent international compliance standards and improve the overall investment climate," he said.

The Commerce Secretary said lessons and recommendations from the previous two phases of the EIF had been incorporated into the new Country Programme Document, which identifies 12 priority reform areas aligned with Bangladesh's trade development needs and long-term economic transformation agenda.

He stressed that producing policy papers and research reports alone would not deliver meaningful change unless they were translated into concrete action.

"Our priority must be effective implementation. The recommendations need to be transformed into practical reforms that produce tangible benefits across ministries, departments and implementing agencies," he said.

Ataur Rahman Khan also called for accelerated reforms to improve the country's business environment through trade facilitation, trade liberalisation, legal and regulatory modernisation and stronger coordination among government institutions.

Addressing the workshop, Additional Secretary (WTO) at the Ministry of Commerce Khadija Nazneen said the EIF programme is financed by development partners, including the United Kingdom, the European Union and Sweden, to help LDCs strengthen their trade capacity.

She noted that Bangladesh had successfully completed the first two phases of the programme between 2009-2015 and 2016-2024, respectively.

"The third phase is expected to begin this year. Once the Country Programme Document is approved, Bangladesh will receive financial assistance to implement the five-year programme," she said.

Former Additional Secretary and EIF consultant Md Hafizur Rahman said the CPD had been prepared in line with the country's existing trade and industrial policies, as well as recommendations from earlier studies and reform strategies.

He said the priority activities were drawn from the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS), the Export Policy, Industrial Policy, Trade Policy, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and investment facilitation initiatives.

Initially, around 52 project proposals were identified, but these were narrowed to 12 priority initiatives after assessing implementation capacity and the likely level of support from development partners.

The selected projects focus on boosting export competitiveness, streamlining trade facilitation, improving the investment climate, strengthening institutional capacity, expanding training and research, and promoting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to modernise trade and business services.

The workshop was also attended by Additional Secretary (FTA) Ayesha Akter, Additional Secretary (IIT) Shibir Bichitra Barua, along with representatives from various ministries, government agencies and stakeholder organisations.