Dhaka 11 March 2021: Bangladesh and Australia expressed their desire to deepen and widen their economic cooperation. As Bangladesh graduates from Least Developed Country status, both sides acknowledged the importance of greater engagement particularly in the areas of agriculture; water resource management; power, energy and mineral resources; trade; investment; human resource development; ICT; defense and Blue Economy. They hoped for closer collaboration to address common challenges and opportunities in Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean regions.These were discussed at the Senior Officials Talks were held today between the two Foreign Offices on a virtual platform as part of the regular Foreign Office Consultations.

Earlier on Tuesday, Australian Foreign Minister Senator Marise Payne called his Bangladesh counterpart Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen and discussed bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the Rohingya issue, Climate Change and Commonwealth. Their discussion also focused on recalibrating the bilateral relations more towards trade, investment and human resource development. Foreign Minister Momen sought intensified Australian support in early resolution of the Rohingya crisis.

In today’s talks, the Australian side congratulated Bangladesh in her celebration of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabadhu Shiekh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of Independence. Bangladesh side recalled with gratitude the bipartisan support of Australian lawmakers and the people during her War of Liberation. Both sides highlighted the excellent bilateral relations based on historical ties, the important contribution of diaspora and shared values and common aspirations for peace, progress and prosperity.

Australia reaffirmed its commitment to support Bangladesh’s recovery from COVID-19 and to extend assistance to Bangladesh’s priority areas through the Australian development programme.The two sides also expressed satisfaction in the progress made in creating a platform for discussing trade and investment related matters and also resumption of direct air cargo transportation from Bangladesh.

The talks involved productive exchange of views on the challenges in the Indian Ocean region, Myanmar, a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis, the importance of human rights, and on other current global issues including climate change.Officials acknowledged the shared security interests, including cooperation in cyber security, fighting transnational crime, countering terrorism and human trafficking; and the importance both sides place on defence cooperation.