Bangladesh should plan to tackle unemployment, reduce technological gap and ensure transparency in governance to facilitate the country's smooth graduation from the grouping of least-developed countries, experts said yesterday.

"For sustainable development during the preparatory, graduation and transition periods, we need to enhance productivity, catch up with modern technologies and move towards innovation," said Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, chairman of the Department of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka.

This is because competitiveness comes with increased productivity, for which adequate resource distribution and capacity building is required.

"However, the initiative could be made easier to implement through public investment or different fiscal incentives," he added.

Prof Titumir was speaking at a dialogue on Bangladesh's LDC graduation organised by the Center for Governance Studies at the InterContinental Dhaka yesterday.

He went on to say that Covid-19 had created several economic constraints that could impede Bangladesh's path to become a developed country.

Mercy Miyang Tembon, the World Bank's country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, suggested policy reforms such as tariff rationalisation and speedy service delivery to facilitate national development.

There are three major indices -- gross national income, human assets, and economic vulnerability – that any nation must fulfil to get recommended for graduation, said Abdul Moyeen Khan, a former minister.

However, all these international criteria are flawed in terms of concept when it comes to Bangladesh as an economy can't be devoid of society and the most important criterion for graduation is democracy, said Khan, also a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Planning Minister MA Mannan said that although there is an income disparity in Bangladesh, the case is the same in economies all over the world.

The government's strategy is to ensure economic growth so that the living conditions of people at the bottom of the pyramid improves, he said.

"While neighbouring countries saw their gross domestic product (GDP) growth slip into the negative, Bangladesh registered positive GDP growth," he added.

M Abu Eusuf, executive director of the Research and Policy Integration for Development, said Bangladesh should come out of its GDP obsession.

Instead, people should focus on enhancing the country's institutional capacity as a weak system in this regard hinders smooth development.

"Besides, employment opportunities must be increased," Prof Eusuf added.

Lawmaker Selima Ahmad emphasised the need for all development partners to work together as well as capacity building among local industries.

"The damage inflicted by Covid-19 to our nation must be compensated quickly," she said.

Md Habibe Millat, a member of parliament, stressed the need to make a policy for universal health coverage.

Sheikh Shahidul Islam, a former minister, said Bangladesh is underprepared for its graduation, so the authorities should initiate the transition as soon as possible.

"Otherwise, we will get left behind," he added.

Islam went on to say that Bangladesh is neither prepared nor has the technology to face the fourth industrial revolution.

"Universities have not updated their curriculum, so we do not have skilled labour to operate cutting-edge technologies," he said, adding that ensuring political stability is also important for a smooth graduation.

Mamun Rashid, senior partner at PwC Bangladesh, moderated the session.