Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today put emphasis on attaining self-sufficiency over graduating from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status.

“We must be clear that we no longer want to remain dependent on others. We have to become self-reliant. Since we are still dependent, our focus should be on moving away from it as soon as possible. There is no other option,” he said. 

The Chief Adviser said this while presiding over a meeting of the National Steering Committee formed to implement and monitor the smooth and sustainable transition strategy of Bangladesh from the LDC status at the Chief Adviser’s Office in the city’s Tejgaon area.

Later, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed the media at the Foreign Service Academy here this afternoon about the details of the meeting.

Emphasizing the need for a self-reliant Bangladesh, Professor Yunus said, “For this, we have to change our habits. To be self-reliant, we must use our intellect, work hard, and struggle. Though it may be difficult, there is joy in this effort. When we talk about a new Bangladesh, it means a self-reliant Bangladesh.”

This nation has enough capability to stand on its own feet, he noted and said, “Our youth and creativity are our strength. We have both the power and the opportunity—we must utilize them. We must build a self-reliant economy to free the nation from dependency. We do not want to live in servitude.”

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin, Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, Agriculture Adviser Lt. General (Retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser M Siraz Uddin Miah, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur, NBR Chairman Md. Abdur Rahman Khan, Special Envoy on International Affairs to the Chief Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Ministry Faiz Taiyeb Ahmad, Principal Coordinator for SDGs Lamiya Morshed, and senior officials of the Economic Relations Division joined the meeting. 

BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan, FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Taskin Ahmed, and Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries President Abdul Muktadir were also present at the meeting.