State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Sunday highlighted Bangladesh’s interest in diversifying exports to France, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, leather, ceramics and jute products, and encouraged greater French investment in these areas.

She reaffirmed Bangladesh’s zero-tolerance policy towards irregular migration and human trafficking and expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to work closely with France to prevent irregular migration.

The issues were discussed when a delegation of three French senators met her at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The discussed issues and ways to further strengthen political engagement between Bangladesh and France.

They also discussed bilateral and multilateral issues during the meeting.

Senators Guillaume Chevrollier, Pierre-Alain Roiron and Olivier Henno arrived in Dhaka on Saturday night on a three-day official visit.

Ambassador of France to Bangladesh Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet and Head of the Political Wing of the Embassy Christian Bec accompanied the senators during their meeting with the State Minister.

During the meeting, both sides held wide-ranging discussions on Bangladesh-France relations, with emphasis on strengthening cooperation between democratic institutions of two countries.

The State Minister welcomed the delegation and expressed Bangladesh’s interest in further deepening engagement with the French Senate including through greater interaction within the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

She appreciated France’s continued support for Bangladesh’s democratic transition, socio-economic development and highlighted the potential for further cooperation in trade and investment, education, culture, migration and mobility and other areas of mutual interest.

They agreed to pursue measures to enhance technical and vocational skills development opportunities for Bangladesh’s workforce.

The State Minister also emphasised the importance of creating more opportunities for legal and regular labor mobility.

She reaffirmed Bangladesh’s zero-tolerance policy towards irregular migration and human trafficking and expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to work closely with France to prevent irregular migration.

Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues, including environment and climate change, women’s empowerment and multilateral cooperation. They further reiterated their commitment to working together in multi-lateral fora.

Both sides expressed the confidence that exchange of parliamentary delegation would provide fresh impetus to Bangladesh-France relations and contribute to further strengthening the longstanding friendship and partnership between the two democratic countries.

They are part of the French-Southeast Asia and Bangladesh Senate Friendship Group, and the visit is particularly meaningful as it is the first political-level visit from France since the new democratically elected government took office in Bangladesh, said the French Embassy in Dhaka.

They will discuss strengthening political and parliamentary ties, exchange perspectives with their Bangladeshi counterparts and explore new areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The French Senate (Sénat) is the upper chamber of the French Parliament, alongside the National Assembly.

The senators are scheduled to meet Speaker of Parliament Hafiz Uddin Ahmad and hold discussions with various Bangladeshi interlocutors.

Their programme also includes visits to places associated with French development cooperation, museums, and meetings with members of the French community in Dhaka, as well as engagements with representatives of the business community.