Staff Correspondent:

Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), has said that Bangladesh will face higher costs for foreign loans after graduating from the Least Developed Country (LDC) list.

She made the remark while speaking as the chief guest at a shadow parliamentary debate competition on the challenges of LDC graduation, organised by Debate for Democracy at the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation on Saturday (March 15).

“We currently receive grace periods and low interest rates on loans from many international institutions. After graduation, the grace period will be reduced, and we will have to pay competitive interest rates, increasing overall costs. We should consider this in advance,” she said.

Fahmida Khatun stressed the need for proper planning when taking foreign loans.

“If we continue to misuse loans through corruption and wastage, as seen in the past 16 years, we may face difficulties in repayment. We must have a clear understanding of how loans will be utilised and their expected returns. Without proper long-term management, we risk falling into a debt trap,” she said.

Criticising data manipulation in economic reporting, she added, “Bangladesh is a prime example of how manipulated data can be used politically. We have seen inflated GDP figures without clarity on their sources, as there was no significant investment. Even the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) later admitted to data manipulation.”

On post-graduation economic policies, she stressed the need for separate considerations for tariff and trade policies.

“We must also evaluate whether export incentives can continue. While tariff exemptions are initially necessary for industries, they should not be prolonged indefinitely,” she said.

In the shadow parliamentary debate competition, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College emerged as the champion, while Noakhali University of Science and Technology finished as the runner-up.

The judging panel included Professor Abu Muhammad Rais, Sheikh Mohammad Jobayed Hossain, SM Morshed, and journalists Mainul Alam and Md Touhidul Islam.

At the end of the event, trophies, crests, and certificates were awarded to the participants. Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran, chairman of Debate for Democracy, presided over the programme.