Bangladesh restricts foreign travel for government officials

DHAKA: MAY. 13 – The Bangladeshi government has restricted foreign trips of its officials under operating and development budgets in the context of post-COVID-19 economic recovery and an ongoing global crisis.

The country’s Ministry of Finance Thursday issued a notification saying that all types of foreign trips, including exposure visits, study tours, workshops and seminars for all government officials will remain stopped until further notice in a bid to reduce the pressure on the country’s forex reserve.

It said the order will be effective immediately and will be applicable for both development and operational budget.

The move came a day after the central bank of Bangladesh toughened its rules for luxury and non-essential imports like sports utility vehicles, washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators.

The twin moves are also expected to reportedly safeguard the Bangladesh foreign currency reserves, which recently have come down to less than 42 billion U.S. dollars, still enough to cover the country’s five-month import bills.

For a growing economy like Bangladesh, forex reserves equivalent to six months’ import bills are considered adequate.

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves crossed the 48-billion-U.S. dollar mark in August last year, the highest ever in the history of Bangladesh, due to a slowdown in imports and rising remittance and export earnings during the pandemic.

-Xinhua