Australian Foreign Minister is on a two-day trip to Bangladesh, aiming to deepen ties
Published : 22 May 2024, 01:13 AM
Bangladesh and Australia have agreed to enhance cooperation between their coastguards to improve maritime security and combat people smuggling.
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud discussed the issue in a bilateral meeting with his visiting Australian counterpart Penny Wong at state guest house Padma on Tuesday.
"We are working on practical shared solutions to climate change to regional maritime security and people smuggling. And all of these challenges we understand cannot be dealt with by a single country in isolation that requires partnership and collaboration,” Wong said in a joint briefing after the meeting.
"We are very keen to deepen our cooperation, to strengthen our cooperation with the Bangladesh government in these areas, particularly our Coastguards."
Their discussions covered a wide range of topics, including trade, investment, maritime security, cooperation in education and skill development, people-to-people contact, and the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Wong arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday morning on a two-day visit, the first by an Australian foreign minister to Bangladesh in 26 years.
In the afternoon, Wong met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after holding discussions with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
About maritime security cooperation, she said, "We have quite a lot of discussions about that. One of the things we want to do is to have deeper cooperation between our Coastguards.
The Australian foreign minister also mentioned her intention to propose a meeting between the coastguard chiefs of both countries in Dhaka to enhance practical cooperation.
"We will continue to work with you not only to provide assistance to you and to these displaced Rohingya communities but to maintain focus on this critically important issue to our region," she said.
The crisis in Myanmar requires a safe and lasting resolution to facilitate the Rohingyas' safe return, she added.
Asked whether some Rohingya people would be taken to Australia, Wong said, "First, I want to say you are taking the leadership, we acknowledge that.
"And we have provided for both Bangladesh and Myanmar communities 860 million AUS dollars over the last six-year period.
“It's a big investment because we understand its importance.”
"We will continue to work with ASEAN and other countries of the region to try and encourage the resolution of the conflict in Myanmar and the regime being held to account for its behaviour which has caused this humanitarian crisis.
"But we all want, I think your government wants what we want is the conflicts in Myanmar to be resolved so that the Rohingya can realise their aspiration to return.”
Wong will travel to Cox's Bazar on Wednesday, where she will see how Australia's humanitarian assistance is delivering practical support to displaced Myanmar Rohingya and Bangladeshi host communities.
After completing her Bangladesh tour, she will go to Singapore.