Australia and Bangladesh are keen to work more closely

In the meeting, the delegation of Bangladesh was led by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bilateral East and West). Md. Sara Storey, First Assistant Secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, led Nazrul Islam and Australia's delegation.

Australia and Bangladesh are keen to work more closely in bilateral, regional, and international forums. This interest was expressed in the 5th Foreign Office Consultation between Bangladesh and Australia, which was held yesterday at the Australian Foreign Office in Canberra, the capital of Australia.

In this meeting, the delegation of Bangladesh was led by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Bilateral East and West). Md. Nazrul Islam and Australia's delegation was led by Sara Storey, First Assistant Secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.

In this meeting held in a very sincere atmosphere based on mutual understanding, development partnership, strategic and regional issues, migration, cooperation in the civil maritime field, security and military collaboration, and international forums were discussed to increase cooperation between the two countries.

In the meeting, gratitude was expressed to the Government of Australia for its ongoing cooperation in development activities since the independence of Bangladesh. On behalf of Bangladesh, Australia's expert and technical cooperation is sought in the fields of agriculture, education, blue economy, energy, and information technology. At the same time, they wished for a more active role of Australia in their repatriation in a sustainable solution to the Rohingya problem.

Reiterating Australia's steadfast support to the interim government of Bangladesh, Australia also sought Bangladesh's cooperation in curbing irregular immigration, transnational organized smuggling, and human trafficking. Besides, development in the economic and social fields of Bangladesh was appreciated. During the meeting, Australian representatives expressed their keen interest to work more closely on matters of mutual interest.