Doha (HRNW) – There will be jubilation in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan this year when it quits the club of the world’s poorest countries, while others still have a mountain to climb.
The tiny state, famed for its Gross National Happiness index, will on December 13 become only the seventh nation to graduate from the band of Least Developed Countries set up by the United Nations in 1971.
“We are taking it with a lot of honour and pride, we are not nervous,” Bhutan’s Prime Minister Lotay Tshering told AFP at the LDC summit that finished in Doha on Thursday.
The leaders of all 45 other LDCs are anxious to follow. Bangladesh, Nepal, Angola, Laos, the Solomon Islands and Sao Tome are scheduled to graduate by the end of 2026.
But they worry about losing the trade privileges and cheap finance that disappear three years after leaving. Angola and the Solomons have sought to delay their exit. Others could follow.
Despite his confidence, Tshering has reason to be on edge.