Bangladesh and Australia discussed aviation security, border protection and migration, and cooperation on counter terrorism during the first ever Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) between the two countries held in Canberra yesterday. Both sides also discussed the issues regarding creating employment opportunities for Bangladesh workforce and cooperation between home offices and in the police sector, particularly in matters related to shared training facilities and resources, exchange of information and ideas, said a foreign ministry press release.
Prior to the FOC, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque, who led the Bangladesh side, had a meeting with Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade Peter Varghese. The two sides discussed some of the most critical bilateral issues between the two countries. Mentionable, Bangladesh and Australia signed the MOU on bilateral Foreign Office Consultation on the day.
During the FOC, Deputy Secretary Ric Wells highlighted the Australian priorities for security and development while Foreign Secretary Haque outlined the development priorities of Bangladesh government in line with the Vision 2021.
Under the broad category of trade and investment the areas discussed included enhancing trade and investment, easing access and more import for Ready Made Garments (RMG) and Knitwear, energy and resources, agriculture, investment and business climate and Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection (BIPPA).