Read the following passage and answer the following questions:
A sustained and strong economic growth since the beginning of the last decade helped Bangladesh qualify for lower-middle-income status in 2015 and to remain on the course to graduate from the UN's Least Developed Countries (LDCs) group in 2026. The impetus for this economic growth emerged mainly from the liberalisation of trade and financial sector, favourable demographic factors, financial inclusion, and macroeconomic stability. Alongside, a stride in labour-intensive manufacturing export, led by ready-made garments (RMG), also contributed to achieving remarkable economic growth, creating employment, and reducing poverty. Registering a 10.25 percent average annual growth rate over the last two decades, export earnings of the country stood at US$ 46.36 billion in 2019 which was 15.32 percent of GDP. However, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic as an external shock, caused a decline in the export of Bangladesh by 16.23 percent to 12.18 percent of GDP in 2020, while world export shrunk by 8.98 percent. It is argued that the highly concentrated export basket and export market prompted the negative impact of the pandemic on Bangladesh's export. As the export of an economy largely depends on external demand, the vulnerability in exports may emerge from economic shocks originating in its export desimations. The impact of the external shock largely depends on the degree of concentrated of the country's export portfolio. A concentrated export basket and export market amplified the vulnerability of an economy to external shocks. Therefore, to strengthen resilience to external shocks and to achieve a higher sustainable rate of economic growth, Bangladesh should pursue policies to diversify exports.
