A decision on Bangladesh’s request to defer its graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category by three years is expected by the end of October, commerce minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said.

The government has prepared a time-bound action plan to use the additional time to strengthen the country’s preparedness for graduation, while aiming to conclude free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union before graduation, he said.

The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a seminar on Bangladesh’s LDC graduation trajectory: Critical challenges and exploring policy options, organised jointly by the Economic Reporters Forum and the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute at the ERF conference room.

Describing the progress of the deferral process, Muktadir said Bangladesh had cleared the stage at the United Nations Committee for Development Policy and that a three-year extension had subsequently been sought through the UN Economic and Social Council.

He said the European Union and other relevant parties had also agreed that Bangladesh should be given additional time.

‘I am very optimistic that we will see a resolution of the matter next week or the week after,’ the minister said, expressing hope that a decision would come before the scheduled graduation date of November 24.

Explaining the rationale for seeking the extension, Muktadir said Bangladesh had not been adequately prepared to deal with the challenges that would follow graduation.

He observed that graduation had been politically glorified rather than assessed in terms of its economic and financial implications, resulting in insufficient attention to making the most of its benefits and building capacity to address potential disadvantages.

The government had shared a time-bound action plan with the EU outlining how Bangladesh intended to use the additional period, he said.

Highlighting efforts to preserve market access for Bangladeshi goods and services, the minister said the government aimed to conclude comprehensive economic partnership agreements or free trade agreements with eight to 10 countries between 2026 and 2027.

A chief negotiator had been appointed for FTA negotiations with the EU, and preparations were under way for the first round of technical discussions, although no date had yet been set, he said.

‘My goal is to conclude the negotiations before Bangladesh graduates,’ Muktadir said.

Preparations to secure Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus benefits in the EU market would also continue, he said.

‘However, I hope we will not need to take the GSP Plus option, as we will complete the FTA before that,’ he added.

The government was also pursuing Bangladesh’s accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, with in-principle approval for the country’s inclusion already secured and procedural work under way, the minister said.

Muktadir said attracting greater investment would require not only access to international markets but also uninterrupted energy supplies, simpler business procedures and transparent legal mechanisms for resolving disputes.

He stressed the need to ensure both adequate purchasing power among domestic consumers and access to foreign markets for exports.

Illustrating the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs, the minister said it took an average of 355 days to complete the initial procedures for starting a business, including obtaining a trade licence, opening a bank account, securing initial clearances, obtaining an import registration certificate and opening a letter of credit for machinery.

Such lengthy procedures made it difficult for entrepreneurs to sustain their enthusiasm, he said.

To address the problem, the government planned to introduce a single online portal for issuing trade licences, allowing applicants at home and abroad to submit documents, pay fees and obtain licences remotely. Fees would be transferred automatically to the relevant local government institutions, he said.

The government was also working to bring the services of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms fully online, extend the validity of various licences to three to five years and introduce coordinated inspections by different agencies instead of separate inspections, he added.

Muktadir expressed hope that the reforms would help free entrepreneurs from lengthy licensing and approval procedures by 2027.

Identifying the energy crisis as a major obstacle to new investment, he said work was under way to increase supplies through the installation of additional floating liquefied natural gas terminals and the drilling of gas wells. The government was also taking steps to expand solar power generation.

He said Bangladesh remained vulnerable to disruptions in international supply chains because of inadequate storage capacity for LNG and essential commodities.

The minister stressed the need to develop strategic reserves and expand storage facilities to help the country withstand external supply shocks.

The government was pursuing an integrated approach to strengthening investor confidence, improving the ease of doing business and securing access to global markets, he said.

ERF president Doulat Akter Mala chaired the seminar, while Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute chief executive officer Mostafa Abid Khan presented the keynote paper.