The French Ambassador to Bangladesh H.E. Ms. Marie Masdupuy congratulated the Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud on his assumption of office of the Foreign Minister, during an introductory courtesy call.
The Foreign Minister fondly recalled the recognition of Bangladesh’s independence by France in February 1972 as one of the first few countries and termed the relations between the two countries as a long-standing friendship. He referred to the recent exchange of visits by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to France in November 2021 and French President Emmanuel Macron to Bangladesh in September 2023 that transformed our bilateral relations towards a strategic one and thanked for the congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from the French President on her re-election. The Hon’ble Foreign Minister thanked the French government for its development cooperation as well over the years, including financial commitments of Euro 1 billion for the next 3 years towards Bangladesh’s climate actions, poverty alleviation, economic development, etc.
The French Ambassador expressed interest in the French government to have more strategic collaboration and partnership in the areas of climate change, migration, cybersecurity, ICT, defence, aviation, space, economic reforms and vocational education and skills development. She underlined similarities in culture, cuisine and arts between the two peoples and requested enhanced cooperation in archaeological missions and the exchange of cultural troupes. Paris will host a two-week-long festival on Bangladeshi culture and arts in Paris next year, she informed.
In reply to the deep concerns raised by the Hon’ble Foreign Minister on the Rohingya issue, the French Ambassador assured of continued humanitarian and political support of her government. Both sides also shared views on the war in Gaza and hoped for an early end to the crisis.