French President Emmanuel Macron has thanked the government of Bangladesh for trusting French Aerospace and promising to buy aircraft and satellites from them.
He said this at a joint briefing after a bilateral and private meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday morning.
Mr. “I would like to thank European Aeronautics for their trust and commitment to acquire 10 A-352s,” Makhon said. Airbus is an important brand in aviation.”
“France is behind Bangladesh’s first satellite. You can trust France in the energy and military sectors as well as in culture, education, and heritage. Thank you very much.” He said.
On this day, in the presence of the leaders of the two countries, two agreements were signed on Bangabandhu-2 satellite and urban infrastructure development of Bangladesh.
One of these is the Credit Facility Agreement between the Department of Economic Relations of Bangladesh and the France Development Agency on the ‘Improving Urban Governance and Infrastructure Programme.
And the other is a Letter of Intent agreement on cooperation between Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited and France’s Airbus Defense and Space on the Bangabandhu-2 Earth Observation Satellite System.
The Indo-Pacific strategy has also gained importance in this visit of the French President.
France is visiting various countries to “strengthen” its Indo-Pacific strategy and counter China’s growing influence or “new imperialism” in the region, AFP reported.
The country is focusing on South Asia as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy.
Mr. about this. Makhon told Sheikh Hasina, “The Indo-Pacific region is facing a new imperialism. Now we want to propose a third way based on democratic principles and the rule of law — where none of our partners are marginalized or pushed into an unstable situation.” .”
After coming to Dhaka on Sunday after the G20 leaders’ summit in India, Makhon says this.
According to AFP, the United States and China are essentially competing for influence in the wider Indo-Pacific region, and Mr. Machon is looking to put France forward as an alternative.
Mr. During his visit, Makhon praised Bangladesh, saying the South Asian country has achieved “remarkable success”, Bangladesh is gradually regaining its place on the world stage.
He commented that this country, the eighth most populous country in the world, which is facing the challenge of about 170 million people, has kept its economy growing rapidly.
In this context, France has expressed its interest in becoming a partner in the development of Bangladesh. The country wants to partner with Bangladesh especially in the sectors where France is strong.
Mr. “While Russia is waging a war for influence in Europe, it is our responsibility to build partnerships with long-standing friends and offer sustainable alternatives. We want to continue on this path with Bangladesh,” Makhon said.
Meanwhile, Sunday dinner Mr. Addressing Macron, Sheikh Hasina said, “Your emphasis on strategic autonomy is basically consistent with our foreign policy of ‘friendship with all, enmity with none’.
“We see you as a breath of fresh air in international politics.”
French space technology firm Thalos is already working on installing radar systems at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The same company built Bangabandhu Satellite-1, Bangladesh’s first satellite launched in 2018.
During Sheikh Hasina’s visit to France in 2021, the two countries signed a letter of intent on defense cooperation.
This time, the agreement was signed on the purchase of the second satellite France.
Also the government is also trying to buy 10 aircraft from French Airbus for Bangladesh Biman to divest their US Boeing aircraft fleet.
Bangladesh made a policy decision to buy ten aircraft from France’s Airbus company at the beginning of this year amid the tension in the political relations between the rulers of Bangladesh with the country since the United States imposed a ban on RAB in 2021.
Diplomatic analysts in Dhaka say that the government of Bangladesh is considering buying Airbus aircraft for its fleet in Bangladesh to reduce the dominance of Boeing in the United States.
Analysts believe that the visit of the French President is particularly important for several other reasons.
According to them, France has been trying to increase arms sales to Bangladesh for a long time. The country is also quite dominant in the military hardware industry.
On the other hand, France has separate strategic interests around the Indian Ocean and the country also has a military presence in the region. The country now wants to strengthen relations with the countries of the region.
In this regard, Md. Abdul Hannan, the former high commissioner of Bangladesh in the United Kingdom, told BBC Bangla on Sunday that France is an influential country in Europe and the visit of the French president is very important from a geo-strategic and geo-economic point of view.
“The visit of the country’s president is proof of France’s importance to Bangladesh in the diplomatic field. Bangladesh is expected to be one of the 22 largest economies in the world by 2040. For good reason, France has become interested in working with Bangladesh in various fields of technology and business. That is why this top-level visit is being held,” said Mr. Hannan.
Meanwhile, the French President’s Elysee Palace office said the visit to Dhaka will be “an attempt to deepen bilateral relations with a country with a growing economy… and thereby France wants to diversify its partnership”.
The French Embassy in Dhaka said on their Facebook page that the President’s visit will play a role in advancing some specific projects and economic cooperation.
The Foreign Office of Bangladesh also said that the visit will take the friendly relations between the two countries to a ‘new height’.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina welcomed him at the airport when the French President arrived in Dhaka around 8 pm on Sunday.
This is the first visit of a French president to Bangladesh after 33 years of Francois Mitterrand’s visit in 1990.
