The United Nations will support an independent readiness assessment to evaluate Bangladesh’s preparedness for graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, the Chief Adviser’s Office said in a statement.

The move follows a request from the interim government, with UN Under-Secretary-General Rabab Fatima announcing the decision during a meeting with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in New York on Monday.

Fatima, who also serves as UN High Representative for LDCs, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, said the assessment would begin within a month and conclude by mid-January.

It will be jointly carried out by an international consultant and a Bangladeshi expert, involving wide consultations with government officials, business groups, civil society, donors, and financial institutions.

Prof Yunus welcomed the initiative, stressing the need for empirical evidence before moving forward. “It has become an emotional issue,” he said, adding that objective data should guide the decision.

Fatima noted that the UN’s latest economic data on Bangladesh is more than two years old. “A lot has changed since then,” she remarked, pointing to the urgency of updating the country’s economic profile.

The Chief Adviser also raised concerns about the pharmaceutical industry, which has long benefitted from trade preferences linked to LDC status. He cautioned that graduation without sufficient transition measures could put the sector at risk.