 Supporting Bangladesh’s Exports After Least Developed Country Graduation: Toward a World Trade Organization-Compatible MechanismBangladesh’s forthcoming graduation from least developed country (LDC) status in November 2026 marks a major development achievement, underscoring decades of strong socioeconomic progress. Yet this transition also poses risks, particularly to the country’s hard‑won export competitiveness. This paper outlines strategic policy priorities to support a smooth and WTO‑consistent shift to a post‑LDC export regime. These include: (i) capitalizing on the WTO’s Thirteenth Ministerial Conference “due restraint” decision; (ii) seeking inclusion under Annex VII(b) of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures to preserve limited transitional flexibilities; (iii) shifting to WTO‑compatible policy tools by fully delinking all incentives from export performance; (iv) scaling up green and innovation‑driven industrial support; and (v) reducing reliance on subsidies in favor of deeper structural competitiveness reforms. Author: Asian Development Bank Year: 2025 Download Tags: Bangladesh, Trade Bhutan and the Asian Development Bank – Integrated Support for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Phuentsholing: Development Effectiveness BriefPhuentsholing, Bhutan, strategically positioned on the Indian border, faces the challenge of sustaining its rapid growth while strengthening its role as a key economic gateway. This brief outlines how ADB is supporting Bhutan through initiatives that enhance infrastructure, boost connectivity, and build disaster resilience. Among the highlighted initiatives is ADB’s support for modernizing Bhutan’s customs systems under the SASEC Transport, Trade Facilitation, and Logistics Project. The upgraded system has significantly improved the speed, efficiency, and transparency of customs clearances, accelerating both imports and exports across the country. Author: Asian Development Bank Year: 2025 Download Tags: Bhutan, Trade Facilitation, Transport Digital Public Infrastructure: Landscape and Opportunities in South AsiaDigital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is becoming a global government priority as essential “soft” digital systems that enable identification, payments, data exchange, and interoperability for national digital transformation. This report by the Asian Development Bank provides a perspective of the digital development landscape in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, focusing on the deployment of DPI and its enablers, highlighting country-specific investment and reform opportunities to advance digital transformation by leveraging DPI. Regional cooperation opportunities are also highlighted as cross-border DPI interoperability enables seamless digital services across countries, furthering trade and people-to-people connections. Author: Asian Development Bank Year: 2025 Download Tags: South Asia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka World Investment Report 2025The World Investment Report monitors global and regional foreign direct investment (FDI) trends and national and international investment policy developments. In 2025, inflow of FDI in South Asia was broadly stable. India accounted for the majority FDI inflows in the subregion amid a small decline, while Sri Lanka experienced an increase in investment flows. Author: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Year: 2025 Download Tags: UNCTAD, Trade, South Asia, India, Sri Lanka  Asian Development Outlook (ADO) December 2025: Growth Steadies But Uncertainty LingersGross domestic product (GDP) in developing Asia and the Pacific is forecast at 5.1% in fiscal year (FY) 2025 and at 4.6% in FY2026. GDP in South Asia is forecast to grow by 6.5% in 2025 and 6.0% in 2026 driven by robust growth in manufacturing and services, particularly in India, where growth is forecast at 7.2% for fiscal year (FY) 2025-2026. For most of the South Asian subregion, growth forecasts have been retained from September 2025 edition of the Asian Development Outlook, where Bangladesh GDP was at 4.0% in FY2025 and 5.0% in FY2026, Bhutan at 8.1% in FY2025 and 6.0% in FY2026, Maldives at 5.0% in FY2025 and 4.9 in FY2026, Nepal at 4.6% in FY2025 and 3.0% in FY2026, and Sri Lanka at 3.9% in FY2025 and 3.3% in FY2026. In Southeast Asia, Myanmar’s GDP was previously projected at -3.0% in 2025 and 2.0% for FY2026. As of December 2025, inflation in South Asia is estimated at 3.3% for FY2025 and 4.7% for FY2026. Author: Asian Development Bank Year: 2025 Download Tags: ADB, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Services |
