Foreign ministers of France, Germany to pay ‘historic visit’ to Bangladesh

Foreign ministers of France and Germany will pay a joint visit to Bangladesh in a “historic” first, their Bangladesh counterpart announced on Thursday.

“Such a (joint) visit has never taken place before,” said AH Mahmood Ali. “This is a historic visit.”

The two ministers from the two most powerful nations in the European Union will be on a three-day trip, arriving on Sep 21, Ali told a briefing.

The press briefing was essentially on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit to New York, where she will attend the UN General Assembly and the summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development goals.

She will lead a 60-member delegation to New York from Sep 23 to Oct 1.

Replying to a question, Ali said his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, had proposed the joint visit when they met in Paris in June.

“I agreed to the proposal at once,” he said, adding that such a visit was sure to give relations a boost.

“France and Germany are both friendly countries that supported us during our war of independence.”

He said he 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. 

He said Bangladesh was extremely vulnerable to climate change and this visit, ahead of the Paris climate summit, would help the country strongly argue its case.

Earlier, officials told bdnews24.com that the two visiting foreign ministers would also inaugurate a Franco-German embassy building in Dhaka.