Leading Bangladeshi expert appointed to UN body on LDCs

DHAKA, Aug. 26 (NsNewsWire) — On recommendation of the Secretary General of the United Nations, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in its recent session has appointed Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) to the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP). Dr Debapriya, in his personal capacity, will serve as a member of 24-member strong CDP for a three-year term (2019-2021).

Established in 1965, the CDP is an independent body under the UN which advises on development cooperation policies in support of least developed countries (LDCs). Every three years, the CDP reviews the list of LDCs for inclusion in and graduation from the group. The current work programme of the CDP also includes rethinking of the criteria defining the LDCs and suggesting support measures for the graduating LDCs. The CDP will be also following Bangladesh’s progress in the context of its scheduled graduation in 2024.

Debapriya is a globally recognised expert on LDC issues. He was the Ambassador and Permanente Representative of Bangladesh to WTO and UN office in Geneva and Vienna and the Coordinator of the LDC Group in UN system in Geneva. He played leadership role in many high-level negotiations at the WTO. He has also been the Special Advisor on LDCs to the Secretary-General, UNCTAD and played an important role in organising the fourth UN Conference on LDC in 2011. He currently heads two international think tank networks namely LDC IV Monitor and Southern Voice on SDGs. He was also the President of the UNCTAD governing board.

Dr Debapriya’s forthcoming edited book, published by Routledge (London) is titled Bangladesh’s Graduation from the Least Developed Countries Group: Pitfalls and Promises.

Earlier members to the CDP from Bangladesh were eminent economists Professor Nurul Islam, Professor Rehman Sobhan and Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud.  Press release