Permission denied to Nora Fatehi dance by Bangladesh govt to 'maintain foreign exchange reserves'

Dhaka: In an effort to save money as part of austerity measures, the Bangladeshi government denied Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi permission to perform at an event in the nation's capital, Dhaka.

According to a letter released on Monday by Bangladesh's Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Nora, who is well-known for her work in the Indian film business, was denied permission "in view of the global situation and with the aim of maintaining the foreign exchange reserves." Nora was slated to perform a dance and present prizes at a Women Leadership Corporation event, NDTV reported.

The ministry made reference to the central bank's limits on dollar payments in light of declining foreign exchange reserves, which fell to $36.33 billion as of October 12 from $46.13 billion a year earlier and are sufficient to cover nearly four months' worth of imports.

According to the IMDb website, Nora, a Moroccan-Canadian, made her acting debut in Hindi movies in 2014.

According to Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, deputy director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, the IMF is getting ready to deploy its first negotiation delegation to Bangladesh later this month to begin discussions with the government about loans the country has requested.

The reserves "are still at a comfortable level, but the direction has been going down," she said at a media briefing on Oct. 13. The IMF is discussing an economic program that will "contain measures to stabilize the economy and to avoid a further downturn in the economy."