France, Germany making history in Bangladesh with first embassy in the world built and operated jointly

France and Germany, once known as bitter enemies, have been partners since 1963 when the two most powerful nations of the European Union signed the Elysée Treaty.

As the treaty reached the 50-year landmark, the Franco-German partnership has transcended beyond the European Union space to Bangladesh.
 
The first collocated Franco-German embassy in the world is under construction in Dhaka.
 
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will fly into Dhaka together on Monday on a daylong visit to give the relations a boost.
 
The visit would take place ahead of the November climate conference in Paris.
 
They would also attend the historic topping-off ceremony of the under-construction joint embassy at Baridhara.
 
This would be the first embassy worldwide jointly built and operated by France and Germany, German Ambassador in Dhaka Thomas Prinz told bdnews24.com on Sunday, before the arrival of the ministers.
 
He said with its “interwoven elements of differently coloured facade elements, the external structure of the building will hint at a DNA and symbolise the close ties between the two countries”.
 
Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, who would receive his two counterparts at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 8am, termed this visit “historic”.
 
“Such a (joint) visit has never taken place before,” he had said earlier.
 
Ali would accompany the two leaders on their visit to the southern Patuakhali district to see ongoing projects to cope with the effects of climate change.
 
The foreign ministry officials said they would attend a working lunch hosted by Ali at the state guest house Padma, before meeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban.

They would leave Dhaka at night after attending the topping-off ceremony at the new joint embassy.

The German ambassador said this embassy project went back to the ‘joint declaration’ on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty in January 2004.

The joint declaration highlighted the decision of building a joint embassy “to have a stronger network of diplomatic and consular services of both countries”.

The foundation stone was laid in 2013 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty.

The Elysée Treaty as a symbol of reconciliation outlined the future of a Franco-German friendship, cooperation, and partnership.

Ambassador Prinz said Germany was “a committed” member of the European Union.

“We believe in the shared values of the Union and acknowledge the official motto united in diversity, as an essential principle of our cooperation.”

“The Franco-German friendship is particularly strong and is at the core of a functioning European Union,” he said.

France and Germany both supported Bangladesh during the 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan.

Germany is the biggest single-country trading destination for Bangladesh in the EU where all products enjoy duty-free market access.

Both France and it cooperate with Bangladesh on various international issues ranging from sustainable development, climate change preparedness to culture and human rights.

The visit also carries significance in the global context as the German envoy said “challenges become more and more complicated and – in a lot of cases – international”.

For example, he said, to fight against climate change, only if the international community united “we stand a chance to solve this great challenge – by negotiating an ambitious, comprehensive and legally binding agreement at the climate conference in Paris in December”.