The Australian High Commission, hosted a reception and networking event to connect and celebrate the achievements of the alumni who completed the “Professional Certificate Course on International Trade” under the Australian Government’s Australia Awards program. Representatives from Government, the Australia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australia – Bangladesh business community attended the event.
More than 40 Government officials from government and private sector representatives completed the course hosted by the University of Adelaide, Australia. The scholars studied trade policies, practices and challenges in managing international trade with a special focus on regional engagement.
In last five years, Australia has supported more than 100 officials to undertake enhance their learning on international trade policies and management in Australia. This included a recent short course on Women Trading Globally, which connected two Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs with other female business leaders from South Asia enabling them to hone their entrepreneurial skills in Australia. Australian Chargé d’Affaires Ms Penny Morton said “Understanding and enabling international trade is important for Bangladesh, Australia and the region. This course will help Bangladesh deepen economic integration and unlock great economic potential in South Asia. Australia will continue to provide support to improve the capacity of the trade and business sectors in Bangladesh.”
While representing the Bangladesh Government at this event, Ms Yasmin Sultana, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Industries, thanked the Australian Government for its support towards building capacity in trade and business sectors, which will contribute to Bangladesh’s economic development.
The Australia Awards are prestigious international scholarships funded by the Australian Government. Australia has been offering university scholarships in the region for almost 70 years in Bangladesh, since 1972. In addition to the long-term scholarships, since 2015, Australia has been offering targeted scholarships for mid-senior level professionals to participate in short-term study courses, to enhance professional skills. In 2018-19, approximately 100 short-term scholarships will be provided to Bangladeshi nationals.