Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said had the Father of the Nation been alive, Bangladesh would have been a developing country within 10 years of its independence.

Hasina, also Awami League president, said this while addressing a discussion in the city.

The PM said Bangladesh, a war-ravaged country, had been categorised as a least developed country (LDC) within three years of its independence in 1975.

On Thursday, the UN declared that Bangladesh has fulfilled the criteria for graduating to a developing country from an LDC.

The ruling AL arranged the discussion at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, marking the 98th birth anniversary of Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National   Children's Day.

The PM said, "We've got recognition as a developing country. We've been able to achieve it after 37 years since 1975, though Bangladesh could have achieved it a long time ago if the black day like 15th August 1975 had not happened."

Noting that there had been a conspiracy in 1975 so that Bangladesh could not progress, she said those who came to power after 1975 never wanted Bangladesh to be self-reliant.

Hasina said they rather had wanted to do everything to make Bangladesh a failed state as they were busy making their own fortunes.

As a developing country, Bangladesh will not face any difficulty in availing itself of foreign loan for its development work, she said.

In the past, Bangladesh had to comply with many conditions for getting foreign loans for projects as a least developed country.

"Bangladesh is now a developing country. The good news came on the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. Nothing can be a bigger achievement than it," she said.