Australia will continue duty-free access for Bangladeshi products: FM

Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud stated that despite Bangladesh's transition from a less developed country to a middle-income one, Australia will uphold its provision of duty-free, quota-free facilities for Bangladeshi products.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is visiting Bangladesh, held a meeting with Hasan Mahmud at the state guest house Padma on Tuesday afternoon.

Foreign Minister Hasan said, "At the meeting, the export of skilled manpower from Bangladesh, Australian investment in Bangladesh's 100 special economic zones and 40 IT villages, seasonal employment of Bangladeshis, welfare of expatriates there, prevention of illegal immigration, cooperation in energy and environment conservation were discussed."

He said, "We have established a credit transfer facility between Premier University of Chittagong and Australian University UTC, with discussions underway to extend this arrangement to other universities."

The two-way trade now stands at around $4bn, reflecting Bangladesh's significant economic growth. "This is quite impressive. The trade volume was much smaller in size ten years ago," he added.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, "Australia is committed to standing alongside Bangladesh to continue the impressive progress made across multiple sectors, such as social, economic, and environmental protection."