On 24 November 2021, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution Graduating Nepal from the Least Developed Country (LDC) to Developing nation.
In the same resolution, Bangladesh and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic have also upgraded after an exceptionally extended preparatory period of five years (the standard period is of three years) to enable them to prepare for graduation while planning for a post-COVID-19 recovery and implementing policies and strategies to reverse the economic and social damage incurred by the COVID-19 shock.
According to the UN General Assembly resolution Nepal’s LDC Status will be changed into middle developing country by 2026.
The 40th plenary session of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution to upgrade Nepal along with Bangladesh and Lao with a five-year pre-preparation period, the United Nations said in a statement on Wednesday.
The upgrade from the LDC status came into effect three years after the UN General Assembly drew attention to the recommendation of the Development Policy Committee under the UN Economic and Social Council to upgrade a country.
According to the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York, “A five-year preparation period has been provided for a smooth transition, recognizing the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and the need to implement policies and strategies to reverse the economic and social damage caused by the epidemic.
Due to an epidemic, an extraordinary five-year transition period has been provided, which would normally be three years. The proposal directs the Economic and Social Council’s subsidiary body, the Development Policy Committee, to analyze the adequacy of the preparation period in the 2024 Triennial Review and to recommend extension if necessary.
According to the Nepal mission, in the last two triennial reviews conducted in 2015 and 2018, Nepal met two of the three criteria related to the Human Property Index and the Economic Risk Index. However, it did not meet the per capita income criteria.
“Once a country meets two of the three criteria, it is eligible for promotion from LDC to Developing status. However, in view of the impact of the catastrophic earthquake in 2015, Nepal had requested to postpone the upgrade,” the statement reads.
According to the United Nations, a nation’s per capita income must be at least US $ 1,222 to be considered a developing nation.
But currently, according to the Central Statistics Office, Nepal’s current per capita income is US $ 1,191.
The resolution calls on Nepal and the other two advanced nations to formulate a smooth national transition strategy in support of the United Nations system and in cooperation with their bilateral, regional and multilateral development and trading partners
After the resolution was approved, Amrit Bahadur Rai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, reiterated his commitment to do his utmost to facilitate the increasing level of support from development partners, including the United Nations system. “Nepal’s passing from the LDC status in 2026 is a really big milestone.
As per the UN report, Nepal falls under the 46 least developed nations in the world.
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, bordering China in the north and India in east, west and south.
Nepal is a beautiful country which has a rich culture and amazing history. This wonderful country is full of amazing green vegetation, fantastic high Himalayas, diverse culture and ethnicity as well as amazing valleys.
Nepal is home to seven of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, center of Hinduism, steamy lowland plains and incredible wildlife viewing opportunities, ancient royal cities and rabbit-warren-like streets of Kathmandu, plus many adventure activities to blow your mind.
In terms of its ‘official’ safety, Nepal comes 84th out of 163 countries ranked on the Global Peace Index (2018). It’s the 3rd safest in South Asia.
Nepal is known as the famous ultimate outdoor-sports destination, offering a wide range of sports like rock climbing, canyoning, ziplining etc. The most challenging sport may be skydiving from Mount Everest and landing in the highest zone in the world.
Though Nepal is under the poor list in the UN rolls as the minimum standard is below the set level by the Un.
However, Nepalis honesty is a core virtue with friendly, warm and welcoming people who are proud of their traditions, religion, music and culture. They are patient and good humoured, rarely hostile or angered.
Nepal is a famous place for handmade goods and its art and architecture. It has unique metalwork, clothing materials, tea, sculpture, paper made materials, dolls, trekking gear, jewelry, etc.
