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FY 1999: Bangladesh |
IX. BUSINESS TRAVEL Business Customs Bangladeshi business executives are usually very courteous, and try to make their foreign guests feel at ease. Business visitors should be aware that in Bangladesh, men and women do not usually shake hands with each other, and may avoid doing so with a visitor of the opposite sex. Foreign visitors often find that hosting meals for their Bangladeshi agents or business contacts helps to smooth business negotiations. Visitors may also be invited to share meals as guests of their Bangladeshi hosts. Travel Advisory and Visas Updated travel advisory information on Bangladesh is available from the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs in several formats. For a line of recorded information, call (202) 647-5225. To access the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board, call (202) 647-9225. For information by fax, call (202) 547-3000. In addition, the Internet/World Wide Web homepage maintained by the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs has Bangladesh travel advisory information at http://travel.state.gov. All United States citizens are required to have visas for entry into Bangladesh. Business travelers should request visas with five-year duration and multiple entries. Should a business traveler be unable to arrange for a visa in advance, immigration officials at Zia International Airport in Dhaka are authorized to issue limited visas for up to 90 days for a $ 45 fee. Visa extensions are possible; a $ 45 fee must be paid to the Department of Immigration and Passports, 17 Segun Bagicha, Dhaka 1000, telephone (880 2) 9553332, fax 9562787, contact person: Mr. Nazrul Islam, Assistant Director. Generally extensions are granted for 3-6 months (short-term) with a single entry. For 1 year or more (long-term) extensions for an expatriate working on a government project, a letter from the relevant ministry of the BDG is required, along with the prescribed visa extension application form. One passport size photograph is also required. For further information concerning entry requirements for Bangladesh, travelers can contact the Embassy of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, 2201 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Suite 300-325, Washington, DC 20007, telephone: (202) 342-8372, 342-8373, 342-8374, 342-8375, and 342-8376, or the Consulate General of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, 211 East 43rd St., Suite 502, NY, NY 10017, telephone: (212) 599-6767 and 599-6850, fax (212) 682-9211. The International Certificate of Vaccination is no longer required for travel to Bangladesh, but typhoid immunization and malaria suppressants are recommended, particularly for those traveling outside Dhaka. Travel Fees Business travelers departing on domestic and international flights must pay an Embarkation Fee/Departure Tax, currently TK 50 for domestic flights and TK 300 for international flights. Foreigners are not required to pay other local travel taxes. Currency and Exchange Regulations There is no limit on the amount of foreign or U.S. dollar instruments (travelers checks, money orders, etc.) that may be brought into Bangladesh, but all foreign exchange exceeding $5,000 must be declared upon entry, and visitors should be prepared to account for it upon departure. Visitors should only make financial transactions through authorized channels. Commercial exchange facilities are available through both domestic and foreign commercial banks or through local hotel cashiers. The banking sector can carry out most international transactions, but efficient service varies greatly among banks and individual branches. Holidays/Work Week Bangladesh observes Friday-Saturday weekend. Business hours are 9:00-17:00. Banks observe the same hours as the BDG, while industry has a 48-hour week. The BDG will announce holidays for 1999 in late December 1998. Muslim religious holidays vary with appearance of the moon (they move ahead approximately 11 days every year). A list of Bangladeshi holidays in 1999 will be published at the end of December 1998. National holidays for 1998 were as follows: January 23 (Jumatul Bida) January 29, 30, 31 (Eid-ul-Fitr) February 21 (Martyrs' Day) March 17 (Birthday of the Founder of Bangladesh) March 26 (Independence Day) April 7,8,9 (Eid-ul-Azha) May 1 (May Day) May 11 (Buddha Purnima) July 7 (Eid Miladunnabi) August 14 (Janmasthami) August 15 (National Mourning Day) October 1 (Durga Puja) December 16 (Victory Day) December 25 (Christmas Day). Business Infrastructure Transportation: Zia International Airport is located at Kurmitola, about 12 kilometers north of Dhaka city. The national air carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, currently is the major domestic air travel provider. GMG, a private STOL (short takeoff and landing) flight operator, has flights from Dhaka to Chittagong, Barisal, Jessore and Sylhet. Language: Although Bangla (Bengali) is the official language of Bangladesh, English is widely spoken and used in official and business circles. U.S. business people may greet their Bangladeshi counterparts with normal English salutations. The usual greeting among Bangladeshis is the Arabic phrase "as-salaam-alaikum" (meaning "peace be with you"). The cordial response is "walaikum salaam" ("peace to you as well"). A polite parting phrase is "Khoda haafez" ("God preserve"). Communications: Telex, telephone, fax, Internet e-mail and airmail postal services are available for business correspondence. Most international telephone calls must be booked through an operator, usually after some delay. Collect telephone calls or toll-free calls cannot be made from Bangladesh. International direct dialing telephones and fax machines are increasingly available in major cities and hotels in Bangladesh. Cellular phone service is available in Dhaka and Chittagong. Bangladesh is six hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) (11 hours ahead of Eastern standard time or 10 hours during daylight savings time). Airmail correspondence takes two weeks to arrive from the United States. Registration of all letters sent by international mail is recommended. Express Mail Service (EMS) is available to the major cities. International courier services, including Airborne, DHL, Federal Express, TNT Skypack, and United Parcel Service, operate to and from Bangladesh. Lodging: Two international class hotels are located in Dhaka, the Dhaka Sheraton and the Sonargaon Pan Pacific Hotel. A more moderately priced but older hotel, the Hotel Purbani, is also used by business visitors to Dhaka. In Chittagong, business visitors usually stay at the Hotel Agrabad. For longer stays, guest-house accommodations are available in upper-class neighborhoods in Dhaka and Chittagong. Health: Medical facilities are inadequate in Bangladesh. Most diseases are water-borne. Water must be boiled for safety; bottled water is increasingly widely available. Certain vaccinations are essential. There are foreign-trained doctors in Dhaka and other cities. However, hospital/clinic support services are usually sub-standard. Travelers are advised to get medevac insurance and to establish contact with a doctor upon arrival. The following western-trained physicians/facilities are present in Dhaka: Dr. M.A. Wahab: 881454 British High Commission Medical Unit, Elizabeth House: 884345 DR. TIMOR NAWAZ: 872871 Food: Restaurants in Dhaka and Chittagong serve mainly local (Bengali) and other Asian cuisines. Continental food is available at Dhaka's internationally operated hotels. Local food is spicy to American tastes. The main components of local food are boiled rice and fish, or curry of mutton, beef, or chicken. Vegetables and lentils are also popular. There is no effective system of health inspection of restaurants. A number of restaurants have opened in the last several years that are popular with expatriates.[end of document]
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