Published: 10:30 AM, 16 August 2026
Irene Khan calls for global push on BD’s SDGs, LDC graduation
Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) in New York, Irene Khan has called upon the international community and development partners to strengthen their support for the country’s efforts to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensure a sustainable graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category. Irene Khan said this while addressing a session on the second day of the three-day national conference titled “Navigating Five Year Strategic Framework for Achieving SDGs: Policy, Partnership and Priorities”.
The parallel session titled “Role of Development Partners on Implementing Five Year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development (July 2026-June 2031) and SDGs” was held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC) on Tuesday which brought together representatives of the United Nations, development partners and government officials to discuss key development priorities and partnership needs.
Irene Khan said the country was going through a rare “window of opportunity” to make a major breakthrough in its development journey. She said the government is keen to engage with the international community to broaden and deepen discussions on development priorities and implementation of the SDGs.
Irene Khan said her role as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN would also be to act as a bridge between the country’s development efforts and the international community, ensuring that the issues discussed at the national level receive due attention at the global level.
She noted that Bangladesh had performed well in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but the SDGs are considerably more comprehensive, interconnected and demanding.
She stressed that the remaining period for achieving the goals would be a difficult but important journey for Bangladesh. Referring to the government’s commitment, Khan said it is focusing on investment in key sectors, strengthening implementation and monitoring, and working closely with development partners to make up for lost time.
She also underscored the importance of domestic partners, particularly civil society and local communities, in achieving the SDGs. “Civil society and communities have an incredibly important role to play because you’re the ones who go out there and actually are the last mile of the delivery,” she said.
She also highlighted the strong linkage between Bangladesh’s SDG implementation and its LDC graduation process.
Referring to Bangladesh’s request for a time-bound extension of the LDC graduation preparation period, Irene Khan said the extension would help the country achieve a sustainable and irreversible transition out of the LDC category. She said the two processes create a “double incentive” for Bangladesh to accelerate reforms and development initiatives.
Irene Khan pointed out that several priorities identified in Bangladesh’s roadmap for the requested extension are closely linked to SDG implementation. These include reforms to strengthen the financial sector, improving the investment climate, enhancing domestic resource mobilisation, facilitating trade and negotiating new trade agreements.
“We would like to do, in the next three years, many of these reforms while simultaneously investing in and accelerating the delivery of the SDGs,” she said.
She urged development partners to take these two interconnected priorities into account and encourage Bangladesh on both fronts. Describing the present period as a rare opportunity in the country’s history, Irene Khan said there is growing enthusiasm from communities to the highest levels of leadership to achieve a major development breakthrough.
