Tag: commonwealth

Image of Angola, one of the courtiers defined as least developed
Building resilience

Can LDCs reach 7% annual GDP growth by 2031?

By Brendan Vickers, Head of Section, Salamat Ali, Trade Economist, and Neil Balchin, Economic Adviser: Trade Policy Analysis, The International Trade Policy Section of the Commonwealth Secretariat

If all 46 countries categorised as “Least Developed” by the UN achieve annual GDP growth of at least 7%, their combined GDP could almost double – between 2022 and 2031 – going from USD $1.1 trillion to more than USD $2.25 trillion.

—> This is the target set by the United Nations’ Doha Programme of Action (DPoA).

Yet, in the rapidly changing global economic landscape, with the threat of a worldwide recession and multiple and interrelated food, energy, and debt crises, achieving this ambitious growth target seems a herculean task.

Continue reading “Can LDCs reach 7% annual GDP growth by 2031?”
Development Matters
Women working in a potato field in Bangladesh
Building resilience

Three thoughts on the graduating Commonwealth LDCs          

By Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Member, United Nations Committee for Development Policy & Ms Mamtajul Jannat, Programme Associate at CPD

The recent experience of a significant number of least developed countries (LDCs) graduating from that category has generated a certain level of interest in the development discourse. The Commonwealth Secretariat’s latest report is a welcome addition to that. It presents a cogent picture of the accomplishments and challenges that the 14 Commonwealth LDCs have experienced over the past decade. Five of these LDCs, Bangladesh, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Zambia, are poised to graduate in this decade.

Continue reading “Three thoughts on the graduating Commonwealth LDCs          “
Development Matters