France sending business delegation as Bangladesh seeks investments

A high-profile French business delegation will visit Bangladesh early next year in response to calls from Dhaka for investments.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 Oct 2019, 05:35 PM
Updated : 22 Oct 2019, 05:35 PM

State Secretary of Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean Baptiste Lemoyne informed Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen that he will lead the delegation. Lemoyne is also in charge of French trade and investment.

Momen is on a three-day visit to Paris to lure European investors as part of his economic diplomacy.

During the meeting, he invited a French business delegation to visit Bangladesh to assess the opportunities that Bangladesh offers to investors, the foreign ministry said.

He also raised the Rohingya issue in the meeting with the state secretary, and requested France, along with other EU members, to exert pressure on Myanmar for the early repatriation of the Rohingya to their homeland in Rakhine State in safe, dignified and sustainable manner.

The foreign minister particularly called for investments with a focus on infrastructure, renewable energy, waste management and ICT sectors.

Momen also took part in the Bangladesh-France Economic Forum organised by the Senate of France in Paris Monday.

Representatives of the private sector from both Bangladesh and France, as well as those from the relevant government organisations like Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority and relevant French agencies participated at the half-day long event.

Momen explained the advantages that Bangladesh offers as an investment destination like infrastructure for setting up industries, FDI-friendly regulations, one-stop services, ease of remittance of profit, and availability of skilled workforce at very competitive wages.

Bangladesh Ambassador in Paris Kazi Imtiaz Hossain, Senator Jacky Deromedi and Senator Jerome Durain of French Senate as well as representatives of French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Ministry of France, Embassy of France in Dhaka, French Development Cooperation Agency, Business France and MEDEF International also joined the event.

Foreign Minister Momen also held meetings with the representatives of Business France and the Agence Française de Developpement (AFD) at the French Senate.

In both the meetings, he discussed the possibility of French investment in Bangladesh.

He requested for helping Bangladesh in skills development – an area of investment that will create a pool of young and skilled workers which in turn will provide the potential French investors with the most important capital of all – human resources, thus creating a win-win situation for both Bangladesh and France.

During his engagements with the Bangladesh community, Momen called on them to contribute to strengthen the image of Bangladesh globally by contributing to the societies and economies of both Bangladesh and France.