This week we met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, who has been visiting Sydney for the 2018 Global Summit of Women.
Discussions highlighted the strong relationship between Australia and Bangladesh in trade, education and development cooperation. Two-way trade grew 11.4 per cent in 2016-17. Our people-to-people links are strong – 49,000 Australians are of Bangladeshi descent.
We also reaffirmed our commitment to cooperate on counter-terrorism and regional stability.
We discussed the Rohingya crisis and the impact on Bangladesh. We committed to working together with other members of the international community on a long-term solution, including facilitating the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of displaced Rohingya to Myanmar.
The United Nations estimates approximately 900,000 Rohingya are now living in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh, including more than 680,000 who have fled from Myanmar since August 2017 – mostly women and children. They are dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.
The Australian Government will provide an additional $15 million in humanitarian assistance to support the delivery of food, shelter and health services to these vulnerable people. This additional funding will provide food to more than 700,000 people in Cox’s Bazar, and high-nutrient porridge to more than 100,000 children under the age of five and breastfeeding or pregnant women. It will also support child protection services, and counselling and medical services for women and girls who have survived sexual and gender-based violence.
This brings Australia’s total humanitarian contribution to the Rohingya crisis to $46.5 million since September 2017.