Australian foreign minister arrives in Dhaka

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has arrived in Dhaka on her maiden visit to Bangladesh.

She was welcomed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by the Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit, Rear Admiral (Retd) Md Khurshed Alam, and the Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia M Allama Siddiki.

The Australian foreign minister is visiting Bangladesh with an aim to deepen cooperation, including on trade and investment.

During her two-day visit in Bangladesh, she will hold separate meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her counterpart Hasan Mahmud and other important members of the government.

The Australian foreign minister is also expected to travel to Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

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 people smuggling, according to the media release sent by the Australian embassy in Dhaka on Monday (May 20).

Australia and Bangladesh have significant people-to-people links, with over 50,000 Bangladeshis live in Australia, it mentioned.