Staff Correspondent

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Thursday sought more support from Australia in the areas of energy security, skilled workforce migration, technical education, investment and economic partnership.

The President made the call when Australian High Commissioner Susan Ryle paid a courtesy call on him at Bangabhaban here today, President's Press Secretary Md. Sarwar Alam said.

During the meeting, the Australian High Commissioner conveyed greetings to President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on behalf of Australia's Governor-General Ms Sam Mostyn AC and handed over a formal greeting letter to him. 

The President sincerely thanked the Governor-General of Australia for the greetings.

The President sought Australia's cooperation to diversify Bangladesh's energy sources and creating opportunities for LNG imports from Australia.

He called for more Australian investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, energy exploration, agro-processing, medical technology, logistics and manufacturing sectors.

The President hoped that the Senior Officials' Meeting and the TIFA meeting scheduled to be held in Canberra next November would play an important role in expanding trade and investment between the two countries.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam welcomed the opportunities in Australia for migration of skills professionals, particularly in the fields of information technology, engineering and other technical areas.

Besides, he sought Australia's continued support in scholarship and academic exchange programmes, as well as support for establishing a campus of the University of Canberra in Dhaka.

He also proposed expanding cooperation between Bangladesh's Technical Training Centres (TTCs) and Australia's Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions to develop job-oriented skilled manpower in Bangladesh. In this regard, he emphasised various technical training programmes including caregiver training.

Referring to the Rohingya crisis, the President expressed gratitude to Australia for its continued humanitarian assistance in addressing this crisis and called for the Austria's continued cooperation in finding a sustainable solution of the problem.

He expressed hope that the Bangladesh-Australia partnership would place greater emphasis in the future on tangible economic opportunities, skill development, investment and increased connectivity and mobility between the peoples of the two countries.

During the meeting, the High Commissioner highlighted country’s foreign exchange reserves in banks, tax reforms, judicial independence and a positive regulatory environment in relation to Australian business investment here.

She also appreciated banking reforms in Bangladesh and expressed her country's interest in further strengthening Bangladesh-Australia cooperation in various areas of mutual interest.

President's Military Secretary, Secretary, Press Secretary and an Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present during the meeting.