Discours de l’Ambassadrice - Bastille Day 14 juillet 2023

Excellency, Honorable Minister of Education, Dipu Moni, Chief guest,
Excellencies, Hon’ble Minister of Law, Hon’ble Minister of Textiles, Hon’ble State Minister for Power and Energy, Hon’ble State Minister for Planning
Honorable Special Envoy
Distinguished academics,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Mes chers compatriotes,

I have the immense pleasure this evening of receiving you for the first time since 2019, to celebrate our National Day, also called Bastille Day, in this Franco-German Embassy.

As you know, 234 years ago, the people of Paris took over the Bastille, a political prison and a symbol of monarchy. This marked a turning point in what has since then been known as the French Revolution. Interestingly, the 14th of July « Bastille Day » became the official National Day only at the onset of 3rd French Republic in 1880 and has continued since then to be celebrated by French people, in France and around the world.

The values of liberty, equality and fraternity were not invented by the french Revolution, but were brought together at that time as a mobilizing motto. These 3 words are today an integral part of our national heritage. On that day, every year, we celebrate the unity of our Nation in promoting the respect of those fundamental values of which we are proud. They symbolize France all around the world and constitute the DNA of the French Republic.

This year marks 51 years of diplomatic relations between France and Bangladesh and also the 50th anniversary of André Malraux’s visit to your country, in April 1973. We will be organizing an event to commemorate this historical visit which led him from Dhaka to Chittagong and Rajshahi where he was made doctor honoris causa. The figure of Malraux is the perfect example of the ancient and deep relationship between our 2 countries.

A French historian, Michaël de Saint Cheron, has written a book about Malraux’s committment to the heroic fight of the Bengali nation for its independance. This book is now being translated into bangla and I would like to thank Professor Bhattacharja and the Cosmos Foundation for their very valuable support in that regard.
The whole world today continues to suffer from the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. France, with its European partners and its allies has been unwaveringly supporting the Ukrainian people and will continue to do so, whatever it takes, until Ukraine wins this war.
But France is also very actively engaged on many other frontlines :
  In Europe to build up our strategic autonomy
  In Asia which is clearly a theatre of intense competition amongst powers, hence the importance of a balanced Indopacific vision
  In Africa, where we have been substantially reviewing our diplomacy to centre it more on youth and economy
  In the Middle East, which is undergoing very substantial changes with the exception of the continued plight of the Palestinian people
  on women empowerment and feminist diplomacy,
  and last but not least on climate change.
Tackling climate change is indeed our number 1 priority. The recent Summit in Paris for a New Global Financial Pact, where Hon’ble Minister Abdul Momen led an important delegation from Bangladesh, has paved the way for a huge transformation of the international financial architecture. This is a good example of what should be done to overcome the socalled global divide between developed and less developed countries.

A reformed governance will make it more efficient, more equitable and fit for the world of today. We need a strong political and financial stimulus to back up the concrete measures considered at the Summit. Reaching the target of 100 Bn$ of climate finance this year has become highly probable. We will monitor this target and make sure that most vulnerable countries access their fair share.
We intend to work closely with Bangladesh in order to streamline our projects in all the climate related fields.

At this point, I would like to welcome the appointment by Honorable Prime Minister of a Special Envoy for climate change, HE Saber Hossain Chowdhury, with whom we will be very pleased to work with.

Our Development bank, AFD, is more and more committed to climate-oriented projects in Bangladesh where its activities have been growing at an outstanding pace in the last years, thanks to the dedication of Ministry of Finance’s ERD and others. AFD also recently established a very promising partnership with Pr Saleemul Huq’s ICCCAD. This translated into a fruitful participation of Bangladesh in the recent Paris Summit as mentioned earlier. We are eager to follow up in the coming months on the way to COP28.

France Bangladesh relation is growing day by day as I’ve seen in the 7 months since I started my tenure here.

Our political relation enjoys a high degree of confidence and mutual trust, in the spirit of HPM’s visit to Paris end 2021. Our 2 countries are eager to maintain independance in decision making processes when it comes to relations with other States or groups of States as both our countries regularly illustrate it on the international stage. We also share the principles and values lying at the heart of our Indopacific visions : a rules-based order, inclusive and conducive to free trade and freedom of movement for our people.
Our trade relation is thriving and reached an unprecedented level last year at 5 billion Euros. I am looking forward to the Bangladesh-France Trade and Investment Summit which will be organized in Paris and Toulouse this Fall by BSEC and BIDA, thanks to the leadership of Professor Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam. This will be a unique occasion to see our business communities closely networking and getting more familiar with some of our flagship industries, in particular in the aeronautics and space areas.
Bangladeshi companies, many representatives are here tonight, are more and more eager to import French equipment and know-how and in this regard, France is keen to engage more in Bangladesh, in particular in energy, ICT and defence sectors.
It’s time for me to thank our sponsors, who with generosity made this evening possible. Let me also send a special thanks to Intercontinental Hotel who made this evening a delicious one.

I would also like to have a special thank to the whole embassy team who with a huge dedication prepared this very special event.

Let me eventually thank Sami Alam, who proudly and brilliantly represents the new generation of fashion designers of Bangladesh. He studied in France and organized his first fashion show on the day of his graduation in Paris. With no hesitation, I asked him to design what I’m wearing tonight. The dress is from Herstory, Aarong, was tailored by Nikhil Mondol and team, and printed and crafted by Artisans of Ayesha Abed Foundation, in Manikanj. The scarf is a unique piece representing France and Bangladesh through their epitomic symbols. We look forward to engage with all Fashion enthusiasts in France and Bangladesh !
Vive le Bangladesh ! Vive la République ! Vive la France !
Long live France – Bangladesh Friendship !