Kathmandu, Feb 28: The United Nations Development Policy Committee has recommended that Nepal be upgraded from a least developed country (LDC) to a developing country. The committee has also recommended a five-year period to upgrade Nepal from a least developed country to a developing country through the evaluation of the Development Policy Committee held from February 22 to 26.
During this period, Nepal will have to meet all the required criteria. Nepal has qualified for the upgrade by fulfilling two of the criteria of per capita income, Human Property Index and Economic Risk Index. Along with Nepal, the CDP has also recommended Laos and Bangladesh to be upgraded to developing countries. Even if upgraded in 2022, Nepal will be able to use the facilities available to least developed countries by 2026.
After the upgrade, Nepal will lose the customs and quota-free facilities it has been using in the markets of developed countries as well as bilateral grant aid and concessional loans. But concessional loans from multilateral development partners will still remain, experts say. Nepal had already qualified for the upgrade during the three-year evaluation of 2015 and 2018.
However, due to the impact of the 2015 earthquake, the time to upgrade was postponed for a few years. Despite the CDP’s recommendation, it has yet to be approved by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The necessary process will be taken forward after the UN General Assembly convenes this year to take stock of the issue.
