BD’s graduation from LDC won’t affect medicine prices: Anisuzzaman

Staff Reporter :

Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant on Finance Ministry, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, on Tuesday reassured that Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category will not lead to higher medicine prices.

“Many people worry that once Bangladesh leaves the LDC group in 2026, the prices of medicines will rise sharply. In reality, the impact will be very limited,” he told journalists.
He explained that medicines which Bangladesh imports but does not manufacture domestically are unrelated to the LDC graduation issue.

“Even for drugs that carry intellectual property rights but are already being produced in Bangladesh, we are not bound to enforce those rights under the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework,” he added.

He further said that Bangladesh’s Patent Act has incorporated such provisions, ensuring that there is no cause for concern regarding medicine availability or pricing. Speaking about the graduation process, Anisuzzaman noted that certain formal procedures must be followed as per United Nations requirements.

“We have to submit the necessary documents to the UN by October 31,” he said, adding that the UN’s Special Technical Committee will review them in February next year.

He pointed out that Bangladesh’s performance was rated more favorably in the last evaluation.
On the National Board of Revenue (NBR) reform, he described it as historic and essential. “In almost every country, the policy-making authority and the revenue-collecting authority are separate. When the same body acts as both prosecutor and judge, it creates conflicts of interest. This separation was therefore crucial,” he explained.

Addressing allegations of irregularities, bribery, and corruption among customs officials, Anisuzzaman stressed that along with enforcing laws, strong adherence to ethical and religious values is necessary. “Only then can corruption and bribery be reduced significantly,” he remarked.
On money laundering, he issued a warning: “Strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty of laundering money.” He also mentioned that a high-level committee, headed by the Bangladesh Bank Governor, has already been formed to tackle this issue.

Reflecting on Bangladesh’s economic resilience, he observed that in many countries, revolutionary changes in government often bring negative GDP growth, rising unemployment, and increases in poverty, death, and suicide rates.
“But Bangladesh has avoided all of these. Our GDP has never turned negative,” he emphasized.

Although growth has slowed slightly, Anisuzzaman said the country’s poverty rate remains comparatively lower than many others.
“Our economic management team has been successful. Bangladesh is one of the few nations that can proudly say we are maintaining stability even after a mass uprising,” he concluded.