Online Desk :

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has arrived in Dhaka on a two-day trip to Bangladesh aiming to deepen bilateral relationships between the countries. Secretary of Maritime Affairs Unit of the Foreign Ministry Rear Admiral Md Khurshed Alam (Retd), accompanied by Bangladesh Ambassador to Australia M Allama Siddiki, welcomed Wong upon her arrival at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 11:30am on Tuesday.

Wong is scheduled to hold a meeting with her Bangladeshi counterpart Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud at the State Guest House Padma at 5pm. In a statement on Monday, the Australian foreign minister highlighted various aspects of the visit to Bangladesh; Mahmud also spoke about the topics of discussion. Besides meeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Wong will travel to Cox’s Bazar, where she will see how Australia’s humanitarian assistance is delivering practical support to displaced Myanmar Rohingya and Bangladeshi host communities.

“I will visit Bangladesh and Singapore this week to advance Australia’s interests in a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean region,” Wong said in the statement. “As Australia enhances our engagement with the Indian Ocean region, I am pleased to undertake my first visit to Bangladesh.” She said Australia was working with Bangladesh to deepen cooperation, including on trade and investment, and to find practical solutions to shared challenges such as climate change, regional maritime security and human smuggling.

According to Wong, Australia and Bangladesh have “significant” people-to-people links, with over 50,000 people in Australia being of Bangladeshi origin. Foreign Minister Mahmud said Australian investment in Bangladesh, seasonal employment and the welfare of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Australia will be discussed among other issues.