Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Monday urged Australia to play a proactive role in keeping the Rohingya crisis at the centre of international discussions, saying safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation remained the only lasting solution.
He made the call during a meeting with Australia’s Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs and Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Bangladesh Secretariat.
“Resolving the Rohingya crisis is vital not only for Bangladesh but also for regional peace and security,” Salahuddin said.
He urged Australia to continue raising the issue on global platforms to ensure sustained international attention and support for the repatriation of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.
Hill reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Bangladesh and described people-to-people ties as the cornerstone of bilateral relations.
The two sides also discussed irregular migration, 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.
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.
He also stressed the importance of intelligence sharing and stronger cooperation under the Bali Process framework.
Hill welcomed the new anti-human trafficking law and offered Australia’s technical and institutional support for its effective implementation.
He also emphasised the need for an efficient return mechanism for irregular migrants to ensure orderly migration.
Senior officials from both governments attended the meeting.
