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State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has urged France to scale up investments in Bangladesh's high-potential sectors while seeking broader duty access for diversified Bangladeshi merchandise in French markets. She made the call during a bilateral meeting with a three-member delegation of French Senators at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday (September 13), according to an official press release issued by the ministry.
The visiting French delegation comprised Senators Guillaume Chevrollier, Pierre-Alain Roiron, and Olivier Henno, who arrived in Dhaka on Saturday night on a three-day official visit. French Ambassador to Bangladesh Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet and Christian Beck, Head of the Political Section at the French Embassy in Dhaka, accompanied the senators during the high-level dialogue.
The discussion comprehensively encompassed diverse dimensions of Bangladesh-France bilateral relations, placing special emphasis on reinforcing institutional collaboration between the democratic bodies of both nations. Welcoming the visiting parliamentary team, Shama expressed Dhaka's keen interest in deepening ties with the French Senate, highlighting enhanced mutual engagements under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Shama highlighted Bangladesh's strategic drive to diversify export consignments to France, emphasizing high-growth sectors such as pharmaceuticals, leather goods, ceramics, and diversified jute products. Concurrently, she invited French entrepreneurs to direct capital investments toward these promising areas alongside other emerging industrial sectors.
The State Minister expressed high appreciation for France's sustained support toward Bangladesh's democratic transition and socioeconomic advancement. She outlined vast untapped frontiers to broaden bilateral partnerships spanning commerce, industrial investment, academic exchange, cultural interaction, regular migration, human mobility, and other areas of shared mutual interest.
Both sides reached a consensus on adopting necessary measures to expand opportunities for technical and vocational skills development among Bangladeshi workers. Shama underscored the critical need to create broader avenues for regular, documented labor mobility. Reaffirming Bangladesh's unequivocal "zero-tolerance" policy against irregular migration and human trafficking, she conveyed Dhaka's full readiness to collaborate closely with French authorities in thwarting undocumented migration networks.
The bilateral review also served as a forum for exchanging perspectives on critical regional and multilateral priorities, particularly environmental sustainability, climate change adaptation, women's empowerment, and multilateral governance. Both delegations reiterated their shared commitment to coordinated diplomacy across multilateral forums. Concluding the session, both sides expressed optimism that reciprocal parliamentary exchanges will infuse fresh vitality into Bangladesh-France bilateral ties and solidify the enduring friendship and strategic partnership between the two republics.
