麻豆传媒

The General Assembly has encouraged countries approaching graduation to develop a smooth transition strategy. There is no blueprint for smooth transition strategies, but guidance can be found in:

• The LDC Handbook
• The Smooth Transition Strategy Guidance Note (also available in Lao; Portuguese)
• LDC Graduation: experiences with smooth transition strategies (also available in French)

The smooth transition strategy is the responsibility of the government of the graduating country, and should take into account the country's circumstances, priorities, the national development planning cycle and any other relevant plans and programmes.  The General Assembly recommends that “the national smooth transition strategy (…) include a comprehensive and coherent set of specific and predictable measures that are in accordance with the priorities of the graduating country while taking into account its own specific structural challenges and vulnerabilities as well as its strengths”. It can include both specific actions to deal with short- and medium-term impacts and broader strategic direction, for example in issues related to productive capacities.

Countries have approached the smooth transition strategy in different ways. Here are some examples:

• In Lao PDR, preparation for graduation, including the formulation of the smooth transition strategy, is being led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), with whole-of-government contributions, consultations with development partners, private sector and civil society and financial and technical assistance under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (which includes a specific output on LDC graduation). Formulation of the smooth transition strategy began in November 2021. A number of discussions were held at national, sectoral and provincial levels with involvement of various partners in order to  ensure a better understanding of the implications of graduation and to collect views from multiple stakeholders on the specific actions proposed to mitigate the negative impacts of graduation and to leverage emerging opportunities. The Government – Development Partners Coordination Forum, referred to as the “Round Table Process” has been a national platform for policy dialogue, monitoring and reporting on the progress of smooth transition strategy development and its implementation. The Lao PDR smooth transition strategy is available here. 

• Bangladesh established, in 2019, a National Committee on Graduation (NCG). The  NCG had seven thematic subcommittees with membership comprising of government officials, think tanks, academia, private sector, development and trade partners. Preparation of the smooth transition strategy was led by a specific subcommittee, chaired by the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance. The subcommittee had a Joint Task Team (JTT) with government officials, private sector and development partners membership.  Inputs to the smooth transition strategy were provided by numerous stakeholders through consultations, workshops, seminars, studies and related policies and strategies. The final smooth transition strategy, issued in February 2025, is available . The document also contains a detailed account of the approach adopted and the process.

• Vanuatu's National Coordinating Committee on LDC Graduation identified actions required to address the negative impacts of the loss of LDC-specific support measures. Some were already considered in the country's national strategic plan and sectoral policies, and others were reflected in a separate smooth transition strategy document.
• Bhutan’s smooth transition out of the LDC category was addressed in the context of its development planning.  The planning process in Bhutan involves consultations with various stakeholders, including government agencies, local governments, non-governmental and civil society organizations, the private sector, political parties, development partners, and local governments.  Several activities related to a smooth transition took place over the course of Bhutan's 12th five-year national development plan, including a flagship programme to address priority national issues through high-impact activities.   In April 2021 Bhutan created an LDC task force composed of representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs, as well as the National Statistics Bureau and the National Environment Commission. The task force was initially led by the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Committee, which was later dissolved. The Office of Cabinet Affairs and Strategic Coordination, under the Office of the Prime Minister, took over its functions. The Committee of Four Coordinating Secretaries (C4CS) under the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet took charge of steering the formulation of the, which serves as the smooth transition strategy. 
• Nepal's smooth transition strategy was formulated with the involvement of the three tiers of government (federal, provincial, municipal) and several ministries, as well as development partners (including South-South partners), private sector, civil society, and cooperatives. The institutional framework evolved over the course of the preparation of the strategy, with 
  the creation of dedicated committees. The National Planning Commission (NPC) coordinated activities regarding LDC 
  graduation, under the leadership of the High Level LDC Graduation Steering Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, and composed by the ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Industry, Commerce and Supply, as well as the Chief Ministers of 
  the Provinces, the Vice-Chairperson and the secretary of the NPC. An Implementation and Coordination Committee, a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee and Province Level Implementation Committees were also created. The strategy, which is harmonized with Nepal's Sixteenth Periodic Plan (2024-2029), aims to overcome challenges due to the loss of LDC-specific support measures on the development trajectory, seize the opportunities of graduation, set the conditions for a more resilient future and pursue strengthened international support to achieve long-term goals (smooth, quality, and sustainable graduation). It identifies policy action under six strategic pillars to address major structural constraints and development challenges, with priority measures, timelines, and responsibilities: macroeconomic stability and fiscal sustainability; trade and investment; economic transformation; building productive capacity; climate change and disaster risk management; and social inclusion and integration. 
• Samoa decided that the best transition strategy was to ensure it was able to fully implement its national development strategy. It integrated the issue of graduation into the Strategy for the Development of Samoa (SDS 2016-2020) and into its efforts related to the SDGs, the Samoa Pathway, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.  The CDP's 2021 monitoring report, which contains an update on the smooth transition strategy, can be read here (PDF). See also the 2014 report on Samoa's smooth transition.