The Australian government has signed a humanitarian assistance agreement with UNICEF to improve the living standards of Rohingya refugees and local communities in Bangladesh. The signing ceremony took place on Wednesday at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Dhaka, where Australian High Commissioner Susan Ryle and UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh, Sheldon Yett, signed the $16 million (approximately 1.37 billion taka) agreement. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed attended the event and expressed gratitude to Australia for its continued support.

According to the report, the agreement is part of Australia’s 2026–2028 humanitarian aid package worth 370 million Australian dollars (about 31.62 billion taka) for Rohingya and local populations in Myanmar and Bangladesh. Since 2017, Australia has provided a total of 1.26 billion Australian dollars (around 107.7 billion taka) in humanitarian assistance to address the regional crisis. UNICEF will use the new funds to support education, nutrition, child protection, and safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services for Rohingya and host communities.

The Home Minister expressed hope that such international cooperation would continue until the voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar becomes possible.