French ambassador meets FM, discusses new area of cooperation

French Ambassador Marie Masdupuy has called on Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and discussed new areas of cooperation particularly education between the countries.

After the meeting at the foreign ministry on Thursday, she told reporters that the bilateral relationship is "already outstanding" and that there are scopes to embark on new areas of cooperation.

She congratulated the new minister.

They reviewed all the areas of bilateral relationship from culture to trade to defence and climate change.

The issue of Rohingya response also discussed.

"We agreed that we should all work for durable solutions to the Rohingya issue".

Bangladesh is buying wide-bodied Airbus aircraft from France. The government is also building the Bangabandhu-2 satellite with the help of French Airbus.

Those issues were also discussed during the meeting.

When asked, the French ambassador said education could be a new area of cooperation. They are planning to develop more exchange programs for teachers and students.

The relation between France and Bangladesh took a new turn following the visit of President Emmanuel Macron in September.

Macron’s visit, particularly after his trips to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Sri Lanka, was seen as a diplomatic milestone for Bangladesh and France's push to consolidate its presence in the Indo-Pacific.

With la Réunion and the overseas territories in the Western part of the Indian Ocean, as well as New Caledonia and Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean, France considers itself an Indo-Pacific nation.

Through the visit, the French president tried to portray the image of Bangladesh as an emerging country that is looking to the rest of the world with the capacity to become one of the 30 largest economies by 2030.

Both countries reiterated their interest in expanding bilateral relations.