Desk Report:
Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Milton Dick paid a courtesy call on Speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram, MP.
On Thursday (April 9, 2026), at the Speaker’s Office of the National Parliament, the Australian High Commissioner to Dhaka, led by Milton Dick, met with the Speaker, along with Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Sharon Claydon MP, Labor Party’s Bassem Abdo, New South Wales Senator Deborah O’Neill, South Australia’s Liberal Party Senator Andrew McLahan CSC, Tasmanian Independent Senator Tommy Tyrrell, Chief of Staff Shannon Threlfall Clark, Representative Secretary Dr. Jane Thomson, First Secretary (Political) of the Australian High Commission Harry Thomson, Senior Program Manager Asif Kashem, Policy Officer of the Department of Foreign Relations and Trade Blake Reilly, and Australian High Commission’s Political Analyst and Media Manager Tamanna Riti.
Speaker of the National Parliament of Bangladesh, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram, said that Australia’s relations with Bangladesh are historic. The Australian government set an example of bilateral friendly diplomatic relations by cooperating with the then Bangladesh government during the great liberation war of 1971. He said that through friendly parliamentary relations, not only the government-to-government relations will be strong, but also the people-to-people contacts between the two countries will increase.
The Speaker said that the current government has started a new chapter in parliamentary democracy. By establishing a vibrant parliament, the active participation of the opposition party is taking parliamentary democracy further forward.
Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, Milton Dick, said that the Australian government will always stand by in strengthening parliamentary democracy.
The Speaker gratefully recalled the contribution of martyred President Ziaur Rahman and three-time former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia in introducing parliamentary democracy at this time.
During the meeting, the delegation emphasized strengthening parliamentary relations between the two countries, cooperation in the field of education, and women’s empowerment in parliamentary democracy.
It is worth noting that, at the invitation of the Speaker, Milton Dick and his delegation later directly observed the ongoing session of the National Parliament of Bangladesh and parliamentary activities.
During the meeting, Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal MP; Members of Parliament Tahsina Rushdie, MP and M Naser Rahman, MP exchanged views with the Australian delegation on various bilateral issues.
Senior officials of the National Parliament Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and media personnel were present at the event.
