Upcoming events

During the Asia-Pacific Regional Review Meeting in preparation for LDC5, the CDP and its secretariat are hosting the session entitled “Supporting sustainable graduation: making graduation Read more

More information here.

Wednesday, 26 May 2021 – 8:00am EDT  Amidst a challenging global environment, this side event will discuss how the international community can give concrete support Read more

The World Trade Organization (WTO), in cooperation with the International Trade Centre (ITC), UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), organized a webinar on 7 May 2021 on implications of graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category on the textile and clothing sector. The webinar kicked off an inter-agency collaboration on an in-depth sectoral study on the topic, focusing on four LDCs on the path of graduation from the category: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Nepal. Close to 70 participants attended including high-level officials from each of these four LDCs.

More information here.

Information about the Committee for Development Policy’s 2021 Triennial Review of the LDC category The Triennial Review will be preceded by an expert group meeting Read more

The graduation of the LDCs is expected to mark a significant achievement in their development path. However, despite new prospects, LDC graduation also present some challenges in meeting Read more

Meeting of government officials and UN to discuss graduation process, impacts, smooth transition and other matters ahead of the CDP's 2021 Triennial Review

8 December 2020. Information, presentations and documents here.

The WTO LDC Group held a webinar on 8 December 2020 to discuss the trade and health impacts of COVID-19 on the LDCs that are Read more

The 1st virtual briefing in a series of virtual discussions that are jointly arranged by MOFA and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Lao PDR Read more

Only 5 countries have graduated from LDC status since the category was established in 1971. 12 are set to potentially graduate in the coming years, Read more

This workshop will be jointly organized by UN-OHRLLS, CDP Secretariat, UN-ESCAP and UNDP, in close cooperation with the Government of Solomon Islands to assess the Read more

São Tomé and Príncipe will graduate from the category of LDCs in December 2024, as per General Assembly resolution A/RES/73/133. This workshop is the first Read more

The purpose of the workshop is to improve the knowledge and understanding of the participants of the implications of LDC graduation and build their capacity to address the challenges arising from the loss of LDC-specific benefits. The workshop will provide participants the opportunity to learn about the graduation process and examine its likely impact on their participation in the WTO, as well as preferential trade. Participants will play an active role in identifying options and strategies for their countries to smoothly integrate into the global economy for successful LDC graduation and sustainable development. Each national delegation will be invited to complete a questionnaire on graduation in advance of the workshop and give a presentation at the workshop on the preparations by their governments to address the challenges of graduation.

ESCAP Workshop and Consultation on SDGs and LDC Graduation- Dhaka, Bangladesh, 28-30 April. The workshop is organised in cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh.

A Workshop on Trade and LDC Graduation in Lao PDR, organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Read more

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will conduct a one-week mission to Myanmar to conduct research for the forthcoming vulnerability profile to be Read more

Five small island developing States in the Asia-Pacific region are classified as least developed countries (LDCs): Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. These countries Read more

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will conduct a one-week mission to Dhaka, Bangladesh, to conduct research for the forthcoming vulnerability profile to Read more

Bangladesh for the first time qualified for graduation from the LDC category at the UN CDP triennial review in March 2018. LDC graduation would create Read more

Reception to mark LDC graduation The UN-OHRLLS, the Committee for Development Policy of DESA and Canada are organizing a reception on Thursday 15 March 2018 Read more