Australia wants to bring back its visa centre to Dhaka

Australian Home Minister Tony Burke has conveyed to Chief Adviser Prof 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.

He called on the chief adviser at the state guest house Jamuna today (31 October).

The visiting minister is the most high profile Australian official to have visited Bangladesh since the interim government took over.

Chief Adviser's press secretary Shafiqul Alam briefed the reporters at Foreign Service Academy. Deputy Press Secretaries Aburba Jahangir and Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder also spoke at the briefing.

Prof Yunus thanked the minister for visiting Bangladesh at a crucial time for the country and for 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 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.

Prof Yunus admitted that the task of rebuilding the country is 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," the Chief Adviser said.

Burke raised the issue of irregular migration from Bangladesh, saying his government would like to start negotiations over the matter.

Prof Yunus urged the Australian minister to regularise the migrants and also increase regular migration from Bangladesh.

The visiting minister said they were considering an increased number of regular migrations from Bangladesh.

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

The chief adviser discussed the work of the commissions including the five-member Disappearance Investigation Panel, which is probing hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances that occurred during the dictatorship.

Prof Yunus 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.