Australia to provide more funds to support Bangladesh economic reforms: Penny Wong

Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday said that her country would provide additional economic assistance to support Bangladesh’s economic reforms and to support its graduation from LDC status.

“We will provide additional funding to orchestrate the Australian Trade agency to deliver deeper economic engagement,” Ms Wong told a media briefing after the bilateral meeting with her Bangladeshi counterpart Dr Hasan Mahmud.

The Australian minister said that her country would also provide additional funds to help Bangladesh align its labour laws with the requirements and aspirations of that graduation.

She pointed out that both the countries have a ‘warm relationship between our two countries, which is founded on more than 50 years of diplomatic relations’.

About the meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, she said, “And what I expressed to your Prime Minister is that we share a region, we share an ocean and we share a future and we are determined to do all that we can to work with you and other partners to ensure a region that is peaceful, that is stable and that is prosperous.”

“Like Bangladesh, Australia understands the importance of the multilateral system. We understand the importance of upholding international rules and norms” Ms Wong said, adding that both the countries are deepening economic relationship.

“And I’m very pleased today to just confirm that Australia will provide additional funding for technical education called training colleges”.

“Both the countries are equally 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,” she said.

She said that Australia is keen to deepen the cooperation with the Bangladesh government in this area, particularly, between the Coasts Guards of the two countries.

The meeting also addressed the regional challenges posed by the conflict in Myanmar, and in particular, the displacement of the Rohingya.

Terming the Rohingya displacement as the largest humanitarian crisis in the region, she said, “I want to express Australia’s recognition of and appreciation for your government and your people in providing in hosting so many refugees and we will continue to work with you not only to provide assistance to you and to these displaced communities, but to maintain focus on this critically important issue to our region, which is what is occurring in Myanmar.

“We need a safe and enduring solution to the crisis that allows the reckoning to return and realise the goal of a safe return to their homeland”.

She noted that there are significant ‘People to People’ links between the two countries and Bangladeshi Australians, students and diaspora are an important part of the Australian community.

Responding to a question about whether Australia is willing to take a portion of the refugees, she skipped a direct answer, saying that Bangladesh is taking the lion’s share of the burden, and her country acknowledges that.

She mentioned that Australia provided 860 million Australian dollars over a six-year period for humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya.

“We will continue to work with ASEAN and other countries of the region to try and encourage the resolution to the conflict in Myanmar,” she added.

Foreign Minister Dr Mahmud thanked Australia for their continued support, and said that he urged the Australian FM to take step for more Australian investment here.

He said that apart from augmenting trade ties, climate change, prevention of human trafficking, and migration of skilled labour from Bangladesh were discussed the bilateral meeting.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com