Momen to attend 8th Bali Process Ministerial Conf in Adelaide

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen will attend the eight ministerial conference of the “Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime” to be held in Australian city Adelaide on Friday.

Foreign minister Momen is expected to highlight the steps taken by the government of Bangladesh in line with its zero tolerance policy against human trafficking, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told reporters on Thursday afternoon.

She said the foreign minister is expected to hold a number of meetings including with his Australian and Indonesian counterparts on the sidelines of the conference.

Australia will welcome representatives from across the world to Adelaide for the ministerial conference.

This is the first time the Bali Process Ministerial Conference has been held outside of Indonesia.

Australian foreign minister Penny Wong will co-chair the conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

The Bali Process is the pre-eminent regional forum on these issues and brings together governments, senior officials and business leaders to build new connections and strengthen existing partnerships.

International cooperation is critical for tackling people smuggling, human trafficking and modern slavery, said the host country.

Australia is committed to working with partners in our region to build awareness and help countries strengthen their responses.

Australian minister for foreign affairs senator Penny Wong said she looks forward to welcoming her Indonesian counterpart foreign minister Retno Marsudi to Adelaide and to reaffirming their close partnership.

“As co-chairs of the Bali Process, Australia and Indonesia work closely together to help countries in our region address the abhorrent crimes of people smuggling, human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. “We will work to end modern slavery in every country,” she said.