French Ambassador to Bangladesh Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet on Tuesday said they have a strategic perspective and want this region to be a zone of free passage, peace, and cooperation, a pillar of stability while counting on Bangladesh to work together with them towards these goals.

"We want to develop our ties in all sectors, and we are ready to build a long-term partnership with Bangladesh, a country with a rapidly growing economy, strong companies, an efficient workforce, and the potential to be a pillar of stability in the region," he said.

Speaking at a reception marking the Bastille Day, the French envoy said they, as reliable partners, naturally expect to benefit from a level playing field in order to continue and develop their relationship with Bangladesh based on genuine reciprocity.

"We expect Bangladesh to also demonstrate its interest in partnering in a concrete way," he said, stressing that they can achieve many positive things together.

The Ambassador said both France and the European Union are attentive to the initiatives that the Bangladeshi government wishes to pursue. "We need to work a lot."

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood spoke at the reception as the chief guest hosted by the French Embassy in Dhaka.

France is a full-fledged country in the Indo-Pacific region. There are over 1.5 million French citizens living on a permanent basis in the Indo-Pacific region, in places like the island of Réunion, New Caledonia and French Polynesia.

"In a way, we are neighbours and we want to engage more," he said.

One of the main challenges is to better promote France in Bangladesh, and vice versa, going beyond the clichés like the Eiffel Tower or the French Riviera, said the Ambassador.

"You already know about our passion for football, whether it's the French national team or Paris Saint-Germain, and some of our heroes like Mbappé or Zidane. But there's so much more to discover," said the French envoy.

France is a leader in the fight against climate change, while Bangladesh is a country particularly vulnerable to this challenge, he said.

As the initiator of the COP21 conference in 2015, France is at the forefront of the fight against global warming, the consequences of which are particularly evident in Bangladesh, said the envoy.

"That is why President Emmanuel Macron has made the fight against climate change in Bangladesh a priority of our bilateral cooperation," he said.

As a result, he said, the French Development Agency is devoting, every year, more than 80% of its projects in Bangladesh to climate mitigation and resilience and to the biodiversity conservation.

France is also a leader in ocean protection, as demonstrated by the Nice Summit in 2025, which, among other things, facilitated the ratification and implementation of the ocean protection treaty.

"Bangladesh was one of the first countries to ratify this treaty, well before the Nice Summit and recently our President has personally congratulated the Bangladeshi new Prime minister about the role of Bangladesh in this achievement," said the Ambassador.

He said France is embracing the new technological revolution, the revolution of innovation and France has become a major, and perhaps the leading, European hub for artificial intelligence.

"We recently hosted the Vivatec innovation fair in Paris, which showcases the latest technologies," said the Ambassador.

France is also a country committed to peace and multilateralism. In this regard, and we strive to promote solutions that are both intelligent and beneficial for all, especially during these times of great international turmoil.

For example, he said, France has put forward proposals during the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, which was triggered a few weeks ago by the attack launched on Iran.

"We have also recognised the State of Palestine. We are also actively involved in building a coalition of the willing to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty against the brutal and unjustified aggression by Russia, which has been waging a colonial war for over four years, resulting in hundreds of victims every day," the Ambassador said.

As in 1971, when France supported Bangladesh, he said they are now defending Ukraine, international law, and, in particular, the right of peoples to self-determination against aggressors who seek to impose their will.

The Ambassador said they want to do more with Bangladesh on the international stage and they see a renewed interest.

"We want to work together more as reliable partners. A good example is that France and the European Union have been supporting Bangladesh for 25 years by establishing a system that has favored its exports and has allowed the Bangladeshi readymade garment industry to develop with remarkable results," he said.

The Ambassador remembered the day when offices of two pillars of press – Prothom Alo and the Daily Star – were set on fire.

"But they persevered and they continue their mission of providing quality information – I would like to commend their leaders and teams here," he said, noting that France supports and promotes worldwide the freedom of expression and the freedom of press, which are two cornerstones of democracy.

The Ambassador said their partnership is long-standing one, transcending governments and focusing on the bonds between our two peoples.

France was one of the first countries in the world to recognise Bangladesh just after its independence.

This year, they are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the death of André Malraux, a remarkable figure, a great Frenchman, a renowned writer, a courageous member of the Resistance, and a close friend of Bangladesh who, even before the creation of this country, advocated for its cause.

"You will see a display here to learn more about this unique personality. He was, for example, the first Minister of Culture in the world. It was indeed in France, in 1958, that, for the first time, a Ministry of Culture was created," said the Ambassador..

The two countries have strong cultural ties; French artists come to Bangladesh for residence programmes, and Bangladeshi artists do the same in France.

"We have two excellent Alliances Françaises in Dhaka and Chittagong (I would like to acknowledge their directors and teams here), which teach French to an increasing number of students each year and also promote cultural exchanges," he said.

In another field, the French Development Agency (AFD) has been present since 2012 and has already lent nearly 2 billion euros to Bangladesh.

It is particularly active in the areas of combating climate change and building resilience, but also in the fields of poverty reduction and women's empowerment.

"We are also present through our companies, whether they operate in the fashion industry, the aerospace sector, civil aviation, or the water and infrastructure sector, and we would like to have even more of a presence. We are working on that," he said.