, Oct. 19 -- Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir Monday expressed hope that a decision on deferring Bangladesh's graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category by three years would come within this month.

"The government has prepared a time-bound action plan to make the best use of the additional time. We also aim to conclude free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union (EU) before graduation," the minister said while addressing a seminar on the challenges and way forward of Bangladesh's LDC graduation at the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) conference room in the capital.

The ERF and the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) jointly organised the seminar.

Outlining the progress of the deferral ...