Atlantic Council this week released a new commentary arguing that Bangladesh and Nepal have wisely deferred LDC graduation to 2029, but the three-year extension will only matter if both countries convert diplomatic momentum into concrete trade agreements, transition financing, and domestic institutional reforms before preferences lapse.
The commentary states that Small states possess genuine bargaining power when great powers compete, and Nepal and Bangladesh must use that leverage now to secure binding transition support rather than allow diplomatic activity to become mere theatre.
Quote from the commentary:
The costs are quantifiable. The International Labour Organization estimates that Nepal could lose approximately 132,000 jobs and nearly one billion dollars in output within five years without adequate preparation. Even high-value niche exports expose the institutional barriers the country still faces. Nepal's thriving dog chew (chhurpi) industry—which recorded exports worth 4.29 billion Nepalese rupees (around $28 million) in the first eleven months of the current fiscal year—remains locked out of the lucrative EU market because it has yet to meet the bloc's sanitary and animal health standards regarding foot-and-mouth disease.
Read the full commentary: Nepal and Bangladesh are delaying LDC graduation — now comes the hard part