By Xinhua,
Dhaka : Bangladesh is expected to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) group to a middle income country in the next 17 years if it sustains a growth rate between 6.5 and 6.7 percent, a UN report has said.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a Bangladesh think tank, released the report titled “UNCTAD LDC Report 2008: Growth, Poverty and the Terms of Development Partnership” in Dhaka Thursday.
“We will be able to accelerate our growth and need not wait for such a long time to come out of the LDC group,” said Mustafizur Rahman, CPD executive director, while releasing the report.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, however, pointed out that Bangladesh’s current moderate economic growth riding mainly on export of low technology manufactured goods like readymade garment might not sustain if its export basket is not diversified.
The report said soaring food and oil prices, frequent natural calamity, growing inequality are the major roadblocks in the way of achieving the millennium development goals.
Bangladesh is the largest food importer among the 49 LDCs, the report said.
Bangladesh’s GDP growth in the past fiscal (July 2007- June 2008) is estimated to be 6.2 percent, lower than the target of 7 percent, due to negative influence caused by floods and cyclone Sidr last year.