The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously approved a three-year extension to the preparatory period for Nepal and Bangladesh to graduate from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), giving both countries until November 24, 2029, to prepare for the transition.

The General Assembly decided at its 81st session in New York, following a proposal jointly pursued by the two countries. The assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 81/L.8, extending their preparatory periods.

Khalilur Rahman, president of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly and Bangladesh’s foreign minister, said the extension recognised the economic uncertainties, external shocks and persistent vulnerabilities facing the two countries. “This extension is not a retreat, but an investment in lasting progress. Graduation should advance development, not disrupt it,” he said. “Success must be measured not by time gained, but by resilience built, reforms delivered and development secured.”

Nepal formally sought the extension in May this year, arguing that it needed more time to strengthen its economic resilience, productive capacity and institutional preparedness before losing the special support measures available to LDCs.

Nepal had been scheduled to graduate from the category on November 24, 2026, following a General Assembly decision in November 2021. The assembly had granted the country an exceptional five-year preparatory period, rather than the usual three years, in recognition of the economic and social disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The latest decision pushes Nepal’s graduation date back by another three years.

Nepal’s efforts to graduate from the LDC category, a status it has held since 1971, have faced repeated delays. The country first met the UN’s graduation criteria in 2015, but the government sought a deferral in 2018, citing the economic and social setbacks caused by the devastating 2015 earthquake and subsequent disasters. The UN Committee for Development Policy agreed to defer the recommendation.

In its 2021 triennial review, the committee again recommended Nepal’s graduation after the country met the required thresholds for the Human Assets Index (HAI) and the Economic and Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI). Although Nepal’s gross national income per capita remained below the required threshold, it qualified under the UN’s graduation rules by meeting the other two criteria.

The General Assembly endorsed the recommendation on November 24, 2021, giving Nepal five years to prepare for graduation because of the pandemic's economic disruptions.

As the 2026 deadline approached, however, the government concluded that Nepal was not adequately prepared to cope with the economic consequences of losing international support measures reserved for LDCs.

On May 13, 2026, Nepal formally requested the chair of the Committee for Development Policy to extend its preparatory period until November 2029. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited changing domestic and international economic and political circumstances, geopolitical tensions, disruptions to global supply chains and their potential impact on remittance inflows as reasons for the request.

The government also raised concerns about the possible loss of duty-free and quota-free market access for Nepali exports, delays in implementing the Smooth Transition Strategy and the country’s limited productive and institutional capacity. Studies cited by the government projected that employment in productive sectors could decline by as much as 35 percent after graduation without adequate transition measures.

Adopted in February 2024, Nepal’s Smooth Transition Strategy identifies six priority areas: macroeconomic stability; trade and investment; economic transformation; productive capacity; climate change and disaster risk management; and social inclusion. It aims to minimise the adverse effects of graduation while helping the country benefit from new development opportunities.

The additional three years are expected to give Nepal more time to implement the strategy, strengthen its economic foundations, improve competitiveness and prepare for the eventual withdrawal of international support measures available exclusively to LDCs.

Nepal has said it will use the extended period to strengthen productive capacity and institutions, accelerate economic and social transformation, and ensure effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Doha Programme of Action.

The Permanent Mission of Nepal to the UN thanked member states for their cooperation, solidarity and support in adopting the resolution.