Besides Nepal, Bangladesh and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have also been recommended for graduation by the CDP.

To determine the LDC status, the CDP follows three criteria, including per capita income, human assets index, and economic and environmental vulnerability index (EVI). Of the three indices, Nepal reached the thresholds the latter two, thus becoming eligible for graduation. Nepal will be eligible for all the LDC-specific support measures until 2026.

Though the standard preparatory period is three years, the CDP has extended the period to five, considering the socio-economic challenges posed by the pandemic and at the request of the Nepali Government.

The preparatory period of five years is given for Nepal to provide adequate time to prepare itself to offset the loss of support measures exclusive to the LDCs and enable a smooth LDC graduation.

The LDC graduation is an essential milestone in Nepal’s development trajectory towards the ambitious ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’ vision and the nation’s development objectives proposed in the 15^th Periodic Plan.

However, the recommendation must be endorsed by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which shall then be acknowledged by the UN General Assembly later this year.

Least Developed Country (LDC) Vs Middle-Income Country (MIC)

Earlier, Nepal had met the graduation criteria for the first time in 2015. However, the CDP, in its 2018 triennial review, recommended deferring the graduation on the request of the Nepali Government owing to the setback on Nepal’s economy by the 2015 earthquake and other disasters in the following years.

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Urging LDCs on those lines, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said LDCs should prioritize dynamic enterprises and introduce encouraging them to create job opportunities, end poverty and drive economic growth.

UNCTAD said this in its ‘The Least Developed Countries Report 2018: Entrepreneurship for Structural Transformation’ released on November 20, 2018. The report analyzed socio-economic conditions of the 47-member LDC group nations for supporting the creation and growth of high-impact businesses.

And, the report found that various structural factors such as limited funds, insufficient infrastructure, high registration costs, poverty, restrictions on women empowerment, lack of institutions, elevated political, economic and environmental risks are obstructing entrepreneurship and growth of enterprises.

“The result is that most firms in LDCs are micro or small enterprises and 58 percent of the formal firms have at most 20 employees,” reads UNCTAD’s statement.

According to the report, majority of public in LDCs are choosing micro and small-scale enterprises out of societal compulsion.

 “Entrepreneurship is dominated by self-employment (which accounts for 70 percent of total employment), informal micro and small enterprises with low chances of survival and growth and little propensity to innovate. Small companies account for 58 percent of all firms in these countries,” the statement adds.

In his address to media on the report, Former Vice-Chairman of National Planning Commission Swarnim Wagle said LDCs including Nepal have been failing in linking themselves to the global supply chain.

“Global Value Chains (GVCs) have tightened the conditions for LDC local entrepreneurship. It’s harder competition for many of these countries,” noted Wagle, adding that these countries need to reframe their policies to fit in potential opportunities offered by GVCs.

“The major challenge is scaling up the business owing to the lack of access to financing as the sector that we are working is not even recognized as an industry,” says Aayushi KC, the CEO of Khalisisi, a start-up that has been actively working on waste management.

Various other start-up company leaders present at the meet said they are facing challenges within scaling up businesses.

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The Industry Ministry Secretary Yam Kumari Khatiwada made a statement in this regard during her address at the 17th General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) held in Vienna on November 28, 2017.

Khatiwada, who was leading the Nepali delegation to the conference, highlighted that Nepal is on the way to achieve sustainable economic growth through industrial development.

In this regard, she called on UNIDO members and all other global partners to join Nepal in its efforts to achieve industrial objectives for a strong global partnership.

“International support is more pertinent for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Nepal,” read a statement by Khatiwada.

Permanent Representative of Nepal to UNIDO Prakash Kumar Suvedi and various other high-level officials of the Ministry of Industry and the Nepal’s Permanent Mission to UN in Vienna formed the Nepali delegation.

The five-day UNIDO conference that began on November 27, 2017 at the UNIDO headquarters, Vienna lasts till December 01, 2017.

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Nepal shared its key achievements regarding women rights and overall welfare at a recently-held United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debate.

The UNSC debate on Women, Peace and Security, held in New York on October 27, 2017, was presided over by France (the rotating president of the Council for October 2017) and witnessed the participation of ministers and senior-level representatives from the UNSC member states.

In his address, the Foreign Secretary of Nepal Shanker Das Bairagi highlighted the role played by Nepal towards promotion and protection of women rights since the time the country adopted the UNSC Resolution 1325 in 2006.

Das pitched for more women engagement in conflict and post-conflict peacebuilding operations.

On the occasion, the Nepali diplomat updated the Security Council on Nepal’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in line with the UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820.

Urge for Focus on LDCs and LLDCs

Lauding the President of General Assembly (PGA) Miroslav Lajcak for holding various high-level meetings on key global issues, Das also urged PGA to prioritize the key objectives in favor of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Land-locked Developing Countries (LLDCs).

After peace process, socio-economic transformation is on top of Nepal’s national agenda for the future, Das informed.

In response, PGA hoped Nepal would achieve its targets with major focus on peacekeeping and other key initiatives.

PGA also informed about upcoming high-level sessions that would focus on water, youth, financing for development and conflict prevention.  Migration, climate change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were among other key issues discussed at the debate.

Nepali Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Durga Prasad Bhattarai was also present at this open debate.

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