Bangladesh has stepped into a new journey as it qualified to graduate into a developing nation from a Least Developed Country (LDC) after 45 years.

Bangladesh has become one of Asia's most remarkable and unexpected success stories in recent years. Once one of the poorest regions of Pakistan, Bangladesh remained an economic basket case—wracked by poverty and famine—for many years after independence in 1971. In fact, by 2006, conditions seemed so hopeless that when Bangladesh registered faster growth than Pakistan, it was dismissed as a fluke.

Giving credit to people for meeting the eligibility criteria for Bangladesh's graduation to a developing country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the people can achieve anything. “It is an achievement of the people of Bangladesh. I think the country's people are the main source of all power. They can achieve anything,” she said.

The government has chalked out a two-day programme from today to celebrate the country's eligibility to graduate to a