DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Australia and Bangladesh said Tuesday the two countries would work to expand trade and cooperation in areas such as security and the Rohingya refugee crisis.
The statements came as Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong arrived in the capital of Bangladesh for a two-day visit and held talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud.
In a briefing with Mahmud after the talks, Wong said Australia was keen to support Bangladesh as the country moves from least developed country status at the World Trade Organization to development by 2026.
“We share a region. We share an ocean and we share a future… we are committed to doing what we can to work with you and other partners to ensure that the region is peaceful, stable and prosperous,” she said.
Wong’s visit, her first to Bangladesh, is aimed at strengthening “Australia’s commitment to the Indian Ocean”, according to a press statement from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.
“Australia is working with Bangladesh to deepen our cooperation, including on trade and investment, and to find practical solutions to shared challenges such as climate change, regional maritime security and human trafficking,” the statement said.
Trade relations between Bangladesh and Australia are expanding. The two countries jointly signed a trade and investment framework agreement in 2021, and two-way trade between Australia and Bangladesh now stands at over $2.67 billion, up from about $200 million a decade ago.
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Mahmud called the growing trade volume “impressive” and said ministers had discussed a number of issues, including human trafficking.
Wong said the ongoing humanitarian crises in Bangladesh and Myanmar are the largest and most complex in the region. Australia often praises Bangladesh’s “generosity” in hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees displaced from Myanmar.
“Australia will continue to complement our humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis with our efforts to advocate for accountability for the atrocities in Rakhine State; and work with Myanmar, Bangladesh and other regional and international partners to find a lasting solution to the crisis,” the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said in the statement.
Wong will visit the sprawling Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district before flying to Singapore on Wednesday.
