Australia to reopen visa centre in Dhaka

Australia’s home minister Tony Burke conveyed to chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus about his country’s plan to bring its visa centre back to Dhaka and hold negotiations to prevent irregular migration between Bangladesh and Australia.

Tony Burke, also leader of the House of Australia, called on the chief adviser at the state guest house Jamuna on Thursday while professor Yunus urged the Australian government to regularise migrants and increase regular migration from Bangladesh.

During the meeting, the visiting Australian minister, the most high profile Australian official to have visited Bangla desh since the interim government took over, raised the issue of irregular migration from Bangladesh, saying his government would like to start negotiations over the matter.

Burke, who is also minister for arts, cyber security, immigration and multicultural affairs, said that they were considering an increased number of regular migrations from Bangladesh.

Professor Yunus thanked the minister for visiting Bangladesh at a crucial time of the country and supporting the interim government in its efforts to carry out much needed reforms.

Burke, whose constituency is home to a large number of Bangladeshi diaspora, said that he followed events in the country with much interest and witnessed their big celebrations after the fall of the dictatorial regime.

‘There is a lot of optimism and hope,’ he said about the post revolution expectations.

The chief adviser admitted that the task of rebuilding the country was big since the dictatorship destroyed all institutions and the economy was in shambles.

‘The challenges are big. Dealing with expectations is the most difficult part. But people are patient. We’ve got to build the structures again,’ he said.

Bangladesh’s rich history, including the historic Language Movement also came up during the discussion. ‘The seed of our independence came from this movement,’ Yunus said.

The chief adviser handed a copy of the Art of Triumph, a book on the graffiti and murals drawn on the walls of the cities and towns in the country during the mass uprising.

The Australian home minister appreciated the gift, saying he would visit some parts of the city to look at the arts himself.

Meanwhile, home adviser lieutenant general Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retired) on the same day said that Australia would take more Rohingyas from Bangladesh.

‘We’ve talked about taking more Rohingyas to Australia. They’ve already taken 2,000 Rohingyas and will take more. They’ve given positive consent in this regard,’ he said.

BSS