Nepal is set to add another feather in its diplomatic cap as it is taking the chair of the group of the least developed countries (LDCs) for this year. There are currently 46 countries on the list of LDCs and the countries’ status is reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development (CDP). This opportunity comes at a time when Nepal is working to graduate from a least developed country to a middle-income developing country by December 2026.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Narayan Kaji Shrestha on Friday is leading the Nepali delegation to the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) being held on March 5-9 in Doha, Qatar.

Prior to the conference, Shretsha will address the Summit of the LDC Group to be held on March 4 and coordinated by Malawi, the current chair of the LDC group, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nepal is scheduled to take the chair of the group of LDCs this year for three years, the ministry added. The chair handover will take place possibly in New York after March, a senior foreign ministry official said.

Nepal’s permanent mission in New York will take a lead on behalf of Nepal and further the interest of all least developed countries in various multinational platforms.

“This is going to be a huge responsibility for Nepal for another three years. Nepal’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York will take a lead role for the remaining three years and will present, pledge and advocate the role of the LDCs in various international platforms. If we are able to showcase the leadership capability, this is going to be a good opportunity for Nepal,” the official added.

As the chair of the LDCs, Nepal has to play an effective role for developing a common position among the member nations on the issues of development and climate change, among others, Durga Bhattarai, former foreign secretary and Nepal’s permanent representative to the United Nations said.

In order to graduate from the LDCs category, Nepal has prepared a five-year country strategy plan.

A country wishing to graduate from the LDC must meet three criteria—gross national income per capita of $1222, over 66 score in human assets index, and below 32 score in the economic vulnerability index—set by the UN.

The political instability and the impact of the Covid pandemic on the economy notwithstanding, Nepal government is working hard for the graduation.

The National Planning Commission is the lead agency for preparing Nepal’s graduation strategy.

Experts said the graduation comes with certain costs including the loss of the long-enjoyed preferential treatment in trade and services at a time when the economic foundations of the country have been weakened by the pandemic.

Since Nepal may not get several foreign aids, grants and other benefits that it has been enjoying for decades, it should carefully engineer a support system to cushion the impact.

In terms of the human assets index ( HAI) and the Economic and Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI), Nepal could meet the criteria but it is half-way through in meeting the criteria on the gross national income, said Bhattarai.

While taking part in the LDC conference next week, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha will address the plenary of the conference and hold bilateral meetings with delegations from different countries and organizations, according to the foreign ministry. He will also interact with the representatives of the Nepali diaspora.