Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,

I have the honour to introduce, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, draft resolution A/81/L.8, entitled "Extension of the preparatory period preceding the graduation of Bangladesh and Nepal from the least developed country category", under agenda item 9, "Report of the Economic and Social Council".

The Group attaches importance to the smooth, sustainable and irreversible graduation of least developed countries. Graduation represents the development aspirations of their peoples and a shared objective of the Doha Programme of Action. It should strengthen the foundations for continued progress and ensure that hard-won development gains are preserved.

Through resolution 76/8, the General Assembly decided that Bangladesh and Nepal would graduate on 24 November 2026. Since then, their preparations have faced successive shocks, including the lingering effects of the pandemic, climate-related disasters, geopolitical conflicts and disruptions to international trade and energy supplies. Uncertainty affecting migrant employment, remittances and tourism has added further pressure. These external shocks have interacted with persistent domestic vulnerabilities, complicating the implementation of smooth transition strategies.

Meeting the graduation criteria does not eliminate structural weaknesses overnight. The experience of Bangladesh and Nepal underscores the importance of considering the conditions in which countries prepare for graduation and their capacity to sustain progress afterwards. International support must respond to these realities.

Mr. President,

The draft before us follows the requests submitted by the two Governments and the consideration of those requests by CDP. In its decision 2026/345 of 21 July 2026, the ECOSOC recommended that the General Assembly take action before the currently scheduled graduation date.

We appreciate the Committee's assessments and conclusions that inform this text. We also recognize the contribution of OHRLLS, including through its graduation readiness assessments, to identifying remaining challenges and supporting informed preparations.

The draft resolution proposes, on an exceptional basis, a three-year extension of the preparatory period for each country, until 24 November 2029. It reaffirms that graduation should be sustainable and irreversible and should not disrupt development plans, programmes and projects.

For Bangladesh, the text takes note of the Committee's view that an extension is appropriate provided the country advances significantly on domestic reforms addressing persistent structural vulnerabilities.

For Nepal, it reflects the Committee's call for a clear, time-bound plan to adjust and reprioritize its smooth transition strategy.

The text also emphasizes cooperation with bilateral, regional and multilateral development and trading partners. It encourages Resident Coordinators, within existing mandates and resources, to support implementation, follow-up and monitoring through a whole-of-UN approach, guided by nationally established milestones.

The Group believes that supporting Bangladesh and Nepal in their effort will reinforce confidence in a graduation process that delivers lasting development benefits.

The Group calls for predictable support in financing, trade, technology transfer and capacity-building, consistent with the Doha Programme of Action, so that their preparations for graduation can proceed alongside implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr. President,

The Group expresses its sincere appreciation to Mr. Mohammed Nasser Almuhannadi and Mr. Mohammed Hassan Al-Emadi from Qatar for facilitating the negotiations and to Mr. Emdad Chowdhury from Bangladesh and Ms. Pramita Adhikari from Nepal for coordinating this resolution on behalf of the Group.

We thank all delegations for their constructive engagement and willingness to work towards a text that responds to the circumstances of both countries.

The Group of 77 and China calls upon all Member States to support the draft resolution and looks forward to its adoption by consensus.

Thank you.