France
France donates 2.06 mln AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Bangladesh
The government of France has donated 2.06 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh under the COVAX arrangement as a gesture of solidarity to the friendly country’s fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
The French gesture covers a consignment containing 2,006,400 doses of vaccine as well as their transport to Dhaka through their own arrangement.
French Ambassador to Bangladesh Jean-Marin Schuh handed over the token vaccine doses to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid Maleque at a function held at State guesthouse Padma on Tuesday.
Read: Bangladesh receives 1.5 mn doses of AstraZeneca from KSA as gift
Through vaccine sharing, the relations between the two countries will further be strengthened, both sides noted.
The announcement over donating vaccine came during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to Paris recently.
“We thank the French government and the people of France. I would like to say that I had never seen in the past the way they showed respect to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this time during her visit. From the day one, they have really showed great respect to our Prime Minister,” Dr Momen said.
The Foreign Minister said Sweden will also donate 5.30 lakh doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh.
He appreciated the role of Bangladesh Health Minister saying he has done an excellent job under the leadership of Prime Minister in terms of dealing with the Covid-19 situation in the country.
“He (Health Minister) stood like a solid rock under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina despite various criticism,” Dr Momen said.
Read:Bangladesh receives 2 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses from China as gift
The French Ambassador hoped that both the countries would soon be able to overcome the pandemic through shared efforts.
He noted that Bangladesh government would allocate a part of these vaccine doses to the Rohingya population in the camps.
The Health Minister thanked the French government for extending support to Bangladesh in such a time when the government of Bangladesh was taking due efforts to inoculate its total population. “It’ll help boost our vaccination efforts.”
France calls for European aid after 27 migrant deaths at sea
Helicopters buzzed above the waves and vessels were already scouring the cold waters when French maritime rescue volunteer Charles Devos added his boat to the frantic search for a flimsy migrant craft that foundered in the English Channel, killing at least 27.
What Devos found was gruesome. But not, he later sorrowfully acknowledged, wholly unexpected. With migrants often setting off by the hundreds in flotillas of unseaworthy and overloaded vessels into the busy shipping lane crisscrossed by hulking freighters, and frequently beset by treacherous weather, waves and currents, Devos had long feared that tragedy would ensue.
That came this week, with the deadliest migration accident to date on the dangerous stretch of sea that separates France and Britain.
“We picked up six floating bodies. We passed by an inflatable craft that was deflated. The little bit of air remaining kept it afloat,” Devos told reporters.
“I’d been somewhat expecting it because I’d say, ‘It’s going to end with a drama,’” he said.
Also read: Migrant boat capsizes in English Channel; at least 31 dead
France and Britain appealed Thursday for European assistance, promised stepped-up efforts to combat people-smuggling networks and also traded blame and barbs in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly sinking that shone a light on the scale and complexity of Europe’s migration problems.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent French President Emmanuel Macron and the EU leadership a letter Thursday proposing joint sea, air and land patrols starting as soon as next week. France has resisted the idea. Johnson also proposed an agreement allowing Britain to send back migrants to France.
Macron appealed to neighboring European countries to do more to stop illegal migration into France, saying that when migrants reach French shores with hopes of heading on to Britain “it is already too late.”
Macron said France is deploying army drones as part of stepped-up efforts to patrol its northern coastline and help rescue migrants at sea. But he also said that a greater collective effort is needed, referring to France as a “transit country" for Britain-bound migrants.
Also read: Italian Coast Guard rescues 550 migrants from stormy seas
“We need to strengthen cooperation with Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, but also the British and the (European) Commission,” he said on a visit to Croatia. “We need stronger European cooperation.”
Migration is an explosive issue in Europe, where leaders often accuse one another of not doing enough to either prevent migrants from entering their countries or from continuing on to other nations.
Ministers from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Britain and EU officials will meet on Sunday to discuss increasing efforts to crack down on migrant-smuggling networks, Macron's government announced.
They will convene in Calais, one of the French coastal towns where migrants gather, looking for ways to cross to the British coast that is visible from France on clear days. Seaside communities on both sides of the channel were reeling Thursday from the sinking's horrific toll.
“This was unfortunately something that could have been foreseen, a scenario of horror that we’d feared and dreaded,” said Ludovic Hochart, a police union official in Calais.
Across the channel, in the British port of Dover, small business owner Paula Elliot said: “It’s dreadful that people have lost their lives."
“The vessels that they take, are traveling in, are not fit for purpose,” she said. "They probably don’t understand how arduous the journey is going to be, and especially at this time of year, it’s so much colder than in the summer.”
Devos, the rescue volunteer, told reporters in comments broadcast by coastal radio Delta FM that the flimsy craft used by migrants for the crossing are increasingly overloaded, with as many as 50 people aboard.
Macron described the dead in Wednesday's sinking as "victims of the worst system, that of smugglers and human traffickers.”
France has never had so many officers mobilized against illegal migration and its commitment is “total,” he said.
Ever-increasing numbers of people fleeing conflict or poverty in Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Eritrea or elsewhere are risking the perilous journey from France, hoping to win asylum or find better opportunities in Britain.
The crossings have tripled this year compared to 2020. Shipwrecks on the scale of that seen Wednesday are not uncommon in the Mediterranean Sea, where just this year about 1,600 people have died or gone missing, according to U.N. estimates.
The French prosecutors’ office tasked with investigating the sinking said the dead included 17 men, seven women and two boys and one girl thought to be teenagers. Magistrates were investigating potential charges of homicide, unintentional wounding, assisting illegal migration and criminal conspiracy, the prosecutors’ office said.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said children and pregnant women were among the dead. Two survivors from the sinking were treated for hypothermia. One is Iraqi, the other Somali, Darmanin said. He said authorities are working to determine the victims’ nationalities.
Destabilized by shock and sadness, aid workers and Calais residents held a silent vigil Thursday night in the port city to honor the dead, huddling beneath a cold rain and lighting candles in their memory.
Macron's government vowed to bring those responsible for the tragedy to justice, piling pressure on investigators. Darmanin announced the arrests of five alleged smugglers who he said are suspected of being linked to the sinking. He gave no details. The prosecutors' office investigating the deaths confirmed five arrests since Wednesday but said they didn't appear to be linked to its probe.
Darmanin said a suspected smuggler arrested overnight was driving a vehicle registered in Germany and had bought inflatable boats there.
He said criminal groups in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Britain are behind people-smuggling networks. He called on those countries to cooperate better against smugglers, saying they don’t always respond fully to French judicial requests for information.
“Britain and France must work together. We must no longer be, in effect, the only ones able to fight the smugglers,” the minister said.
In their immediate response to the sinking, French authorities initially gave differing figures on the number of dead, from at least 27 to 31. The figure that Darmanin used Thursday morning on RTL radio was 27.
The minister also took a swipe at British government migration policies, saying France expels more people living in the country without legal permission than the U.K. Illegal migration from France's northern shores to Britain has long been a source of tension between the two countries, even as their police forces work together to try to stop crossings. The issue is often used by politicians on both sides pushing an anti-migration agenda.
Darmanin also suggested that by hiring people living in the country illegally, British employers are encouraging illegal migration to English shores.
“English employers use this labor to make the things that the English manufacture and consume," he said. “We say ‘reform your labor market.’”
U.K. officials, meanwhile, criticize France for rejecting their offer of British police and border officers to conduct joint patrols along the channel coast with French police.
Macron advocated an immediate funding boost for the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, according to his office.
“France will not allow the Channel to become a cemetery,” Macron said.
France showers immense honour on PM Hasina
France has shown ‘exceptional honour’ to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her ongoing visit to the country, according to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
Describing the visit as ‘historic’, he said the French side expressed their keenness to strengthen bilateral relations and take them to a new height.
“No head of state or government of Bangladesh has ever received such honour as the Prime Minister witnessed here during this visit,” he said while talking to reporters here.
Read: South-South cooperation: Hasina for setting up ‘Knowledge Centre’ in Bangladesh
Highlighting different arrangements organised in honour of the Prime Minister during this state visit, Dr Momen said the French President and Prime Minister as well as others have given her a warm reception with great enthusiasm.
He said France has rolled out the red carpet on her arrival at the airport and the Elysee Palace. She also received a Guard of Honour at the Presidential palace.
The Foreign Minister said the Heads of State and Government of different countries attending the UNESCO Conference highly appreciated the development of Bangladesh achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Read: Hasina urges UNESCO to declare online and remote learning as public good
Mentioning that new dimensions in the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and France has been explored through this visit of the Prime Minister, Bangladesh Ambassador to France Khandker Mohammad Talha said the world is now thinking about Bangladesh and that is why they have extended cooperation.
France to provide €330mn for Bangladesh’s development projects
The development agency of France will provide €330 million for the implementation of development projects in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh and France have signed three agreements in this regard.
Of the € 330 million, Agency France Development (AFD), a development bank and cooperation agency, will provide € 200 million for budget support due to Covid-19 pandemic and the rest €130 million for the Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply Project, which is already under implementation.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Fatima Yasmin said this while briefing the media here on Wednesday.
Read: Dhaka, Paris committed to stepping up cooperation in defence; LoI signed
With the € 330 million, AFD’s total support to Bangladesh exceeded €1 billion as it earlier provided € 800 million, she said.
In South Asia, the AFD provides the largest amount of assistance to Bangladesh, she added.
The ERD secretary said they will sign a host country agreement with them in the coming days as discussions to this end are at the final stage.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mokammel Hossain said Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority has signed an agreement with France Civil Aviation Authority to strengthen the cooperation for knowledge sharing and training for its employees.
Besides, he said, it also helps organise various events like aviation safety which is progressing well in Bangladesh’s civil aviation.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were, among others, present.
Read: Hasina invites French entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in France on November 9 on a state visit at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. She is leading a high-level Bangladesh delegation.
France firmly with Bangladesh over Rohingya issue: FM Momen
French leaders have assured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that France is firmly with Bangladesh in finding a permanent solution to the protracted Rohingya issue, said Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.
“We’ll firmly remain beside you (Bangladesh) so that this crisis could end with a permanent solution,” the Foreign Minister quoted the French leaders as saying.
He said this while briefing reporters here about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent talks with various high-profile leaders of France, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jean Castex.
The Foreign Minister said the Rohingya issue came up prominently during the meetings with all the French leaders, especially the French President.
Read: Speakers call for mounting int'l pressure on Myanmar to resolve Rohingya crisis
During the meetings, the French leaders were informed by the Bangladesh side that the country was trying to have a permanent solution to the crisis through various channels.
“We’ve been trying bilaterally, trilaterally and multilaterally. Even we went to the International Criminal Court,” said Foreign Minister Momen.
He mentioned that the problem was created by Myanmar and the solution also lies with them.
After the recent military coup in Myanmar, he said, Bangladesh did not have any direct discussion with its military rulers.
“We have told them (French leaders) that the western world still continues their businesses with them (Myanmar). They need to stop it in a bid to create pressure on them,” he said.
The French leaders, however, wanted to know whether this is possible to advance the dialogue for repatriation during the military government.
“We have told them that there were military governments in Myanmar in the 70s and the 90s when they had repatriated Rohingyas from Bangladesh,” he said.
Read: EU to remain “steadfast partner” of Bangladesh on Rohingya front: Envoy
The Foreign Minister said some 253,000 Rohingyas had entered Bangladesh in 1992 and 236,000 of them went back through dialogue and discussions. The same thing happened in the 1970s, Momen added.
“We have informed them (France) that there was no conflict in Rakhine state in the last four years. There’s no violence there. So, it’s the right time for the repatriation of Rohingyas,” he said, adding that the French top leaders were apprised that Bangladesh has good relations with its neighbours.
Dr Momen said Myanmar had agreed to take the Rohingyas back.
“They had said they would provide guaranteed safety and security. They had also agreed to create a conducive environment for their dignified return. But they’re implementing nothing,” he said.
As the French leaders asked Bangladesh whether the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) had been informed, the Foreign Minister said, “Yes, we’ve informed Asean. They (France) said they’ve talked to Asean. They asked Asean to take a strong step.”
Asean is slow and it cannot say anything on internal issues of any member country, the Bangladesh side said. “There was a long discussion (with French leaders on the Rohingya issue).”
Read: Dhaka shares with Paris security risks from Rohingya crisis
Dr Momen said Bangladesh told the French leaders to take the issue at the security council.
PM’s Press secretary Ihsanul Karim was, among others, present at the briefing.
Dhaka, Paris committed to stepping up cooperation in defence; LoI signed
Bangladesh and France have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) on defence cooperation as the two countries stated their will to further develop the defence and security component of their partnership.
"Yes, we did it [signed it]. However, it relates to training and technology transfer," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told UNB.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and French President Emmanuel Macron had a bilateral meeting on Tuesday and discussed the issues of mutual interest and cooperation.
Read: Bangladesh joins pledge to end deforestation by 2030
To that end, the two countries agreed to strengthen dialogue and continue their cooperation, particularly in the area of training, which was launched during this visit.
They committed to stepping up cooperation in the area of defence equipment based on the needs expressed and each party’s ability to respond to them, including through capacity building and potential technology transfer in this regard, according to a joint statement.
Dhaka shares with Paris security risks from Rohingya crisis
Bangladesh has highlighted the potential security risks from the Rohingya crisis for the region and urged the international community to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and French President Emmanuel Macron had a bilateral meeting on Tuesday and discussed issues of mutual interest, including the Rohingya crisis.
Read: Gun factory in Rohingya camp: 3 held with 10 guns
The two countries underscored the need to ensure funding for the UN’s Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya in Bangladesh and enable their voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return to Myanmar as soon as possible.
France welcomed Bangladesh’s generosity in providing shelter to the Rohingyas, who were forced to flee violence by Myanmar security forces in their home country.
France and Bangladesh noted the significant pressure caused by the Rohingya crisis on Bangladesh, particularly for communities living adjacent to the camps.
At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is making an official visit to France from November 9.
Both countries welcomed the French Development Agency (AFD)’s long-term partnership with Bangladesh.
Read: Speakers call for mounting int'l pressure on Myanmar to resolve Rohingya crisis
Through the activities of the AFD and in response to Bangladesh’s national development strategies, France is committed to continuing support for Bangladesh’s health system as well as the blue economy, energy and water sectors.
Both sides welcomed the signing of the Credit Facility Agreements on health systems strengthening and setting up a water treatment plant.
Following the COP26 in Glasgow, France and Bangladesh reaffirmed their shared determination to strengthen cooperation for the environment, the fight against climate change and the promotion of sustainable growth, as part of the overall 2030 Agenda.
France commended Bangladesh’s leadership of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and both sides agreed to work towards securing climate financing committed under the Paris Climate Agreement.
France and Bangladesh agreed to facilitate scientific and academic research through collaboration and exchange at the institutional level. France further agreed to offer specialized courses for diplomatic and military professionals of Bangladesh in relevant French institutions.
Read: President urges world leaders to take effective steps to solve Rohingya problem
The two countries also stated their desire to promote the use of the French language in Bangladesh and the Bangla language in France, and would like to support the role of the Alliances Françaises in Dhaka and Chittagong.
Both parties are convinced that this visit will turn a new chapter in further strengthening the bilateral partnership between France and Bangladesh.
France to donate 2mn doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said France declared 2 million doses Covid-19 for Bangladesh as donation.
The announcement came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and French Prime Minister Jean Castex, Dr Momen said.
Bangladesh will get around 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Saudi Arabia.
Also Read: Warm welcome to Hasina at French presidential palace
"Our Ambassador in Riyadh has informed me that 1499270 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine will come from the King Salman Relief Fund," he said in a message from Paris.
The vaccine doses will arrive in Dhaka over the next two to three days, Dr Momen said.
Meanwhile, he said, Poland will provide 3.3 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses free of cost to Bangladesh.
Also Read: Be humane in building livable society for differently-abled people: FM
These are expected to be shipped any day, Dr Momen said.
Poland donated these vaccine doses through the European Union (EU).
Macron writes to Hasina over French photographer Riboud’s exhibition in Dhaka
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his happiness over the exhibition of photographs taken in December 1971 by French photographer Marc Riboud that is taking place at the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka.
In a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the French President said the photos soberly illustrate, with great humanity, the events that led to the independence of Bangladesh.
Marc Riboud had then spent a month with the "Mukhti Bahini", the freedom fighters, and was one of the very first to enter Dhaka, freed on December 16th 1971, Macron mentioned.
Read: Unesco-Bangabandhu Prize: Hasina to visit France in mid-Nov
"These unique pictures show the admirable courage of Bengali people defending their freedom, their language, their culture, responding to the call of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rhaman," the letter reads.
They also witness the interest of France and French people for a determined nation and a country full of promises, as André Malraux expressed right after the declaration of independence, according to the letter.
"I am pleased in that regard that this exhibition also contributes to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries that followed very closely the end of the war, as well as a never disproven relationship of trust and friendship," President Macron mentioned in his letter addressed to Prime Minister Hasina.
The solo photography exhibition titled "Bangladesh 1971: Mourning and Morning" by Marc Riboud began on October 16.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Ambassador of France to Bangladesh Jean-Marin Schuh joined the inaugural session of the exhibition.
It is a unique exhibition of never-before-seen photographs taken during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Read: Talha new Bangladesh Ambassador to France
Fifty photographs are put on display for the exhibition. This exhibition is being held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence.
Marc Riboud passed away in Paris in 2016 at the age of 93. The majority of his archives were given to the National Museum of Asian Arts - Guimet in Paris.
The ongoing exhibition will remain open to all till November 16. Visiting hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 5 pm (closed on Sunday).
Catholic Church in France had 3,000 child abusers
An independent commission examining sex abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in France believes 3,000 child abusers — two-thirds of them priests — have worked in the church over the past 70 years.
The estimate was given by the commission president, Jean-Marc Sauvé, in an interview published Sunday in the newspaper Journal du Dimanche. The commission has been investigating for 2 1/2 years. Its full findings are scheduled to be released on Tuesday.
Read:Australian cardinal links graft to child abuse charges
In the interview, Sauvé did not give a figure on the number of sex abuse victims but said the report does include a new estimate.
Asked about the commission's work investigating child abusers, he said: “We evaluated their number at 3,000, out of 11,500 priests and church people since the 1950s. Two-thirds are diocesan priests."
He said 22 cases have been forwarded to prosecutors for alleged crimes that can still be pursued. More than 40 cases of alleged crimes that are too old to be prosecuted but that involve suspects who are still alive have been forwarded to church officials, Sauvé said.
Read: 1 million Afghan children could die from malnutrition: Unicef
“From 1950 to 1970, the church is completely indifferent to the victims: They don't exist, the suffering inflicted on children is ignored,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “The periods that followed were different.”
He added: “Our objective is to furnish a concrete diagnosis of all the abuses, to identify the causes and draw all of the consequences."