Dhaka: Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed today urged Australia to play a proactive role in keeping the Rohingya crisis at the centre of international discussions. "The safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals remains the only lasting solution to the protracted humanitarian crisis," he said.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the minister made these remarks during a meeting with Australia's Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs and Assistant Minister for International Education, Julian Hill MP, at the Home Ministry in the Bangladesh Secretariat. Salahuddin emphasized that resolving the Rohingya crisis is crucial not only for Bangladesh but also for regional peace and security.
Salahuddin called on Australia to continue advocating for the issue on global platforms to ensure sustained international attention and support for the repatriation process. The Australian assistant minister reaffirmed his country's commitment to strengthening cooperation with Bangladesh and described the two nations' people-to-people ties as the cornerstone of their bilateral relationship.
The discussions also covered issues such as irregular migration, combating human trafficking, maritime security, labour migration, and the implementation of decisions taken at the Bangladesh-Australia Joint Working Group meeting held in Australia in June this year. Salahuddin highlighted Bangladesh's recently enacted "Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Prevention and Suppression Act, 2026", reiterating the government's zero-tolerance stance against irregular migration and underscoring the importance of intelligence sharing and cooperation under the Bali Process framework.
Julian Hill welcomed Bangladesh's new anti-human trafficking law and offered Australia's technical and institutional support for its effective implementation, while emphasising the importance of an efficient return mechanism for irregular migrants to ensure orderly migration. The meeting was also attended by senior officials from both governments.