Current:Home > Contact-usFrance, Bangladesh sign deal to provide loans, satellite technology during Macron’s visit to Dhaka-InfoLens
France, Bangladesh sign deal to provide loans, satellite technology during Macron’s visit to Dhaka
View Date:2024-12-23 15:54:30
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron witnessed the signature of a deal Monday to facilitate loans to Bangladesh aimed at infrastructure development, as well as a letter of intent to provide the South Asian country with an earth observation satellite system.
This came during Macron’s two-day visit to Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, where he met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to bolster bilateral relations between the two countries.
Bangladesh’s Economic Relations Division signed the agreement with the French Development Agency.
A letter of intent was also signed to provide Bangladesh with an earth observation satellite system through cooperation between Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited, or BSCL, and Airbus Defense and Space SAS, France.
Macron and Hasina witnessed the deals signed at the prime minister’s office.
Details remained unclear, with Bangladesh authorities saying they are still ironing out the details.
“The satellite that we will buy will travel through the orbit around 350 miles above the earth. This will be used mainly to observe the status of our crops and the sea. Currently, we don’t have any monitoring capabilities across the vast sea,” state-run Bangladesh Satellite Company Ltd. Chairman Shahjahan Mahmud was quoted as saying by Bangladesh’s leading English newspaper The Daily Star.
Bangladesh bought its first geostationary communications and broadcasting satellite, named Bangabandhu Satellite-1 and launched in 2018, from France where it was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space.
Bangladeshi media positively reported his visit, with many seeing it as a step to bring in investments from France in sectors where the United States, China and India are heavily engaged. Some even said the visit may have a political and strategic significance ahead of Bangladesh’s next general election expected in early January.
France is Bangladesh’s fifth-largest trading partner in the fields of engineering, energy, aerospace and water sectors.
“We both hope that this new strategic move between Bangladesh and France will play an effective role in establishing regional and global stability and peace,” Hasina said.
Hasina said both the leaders agreed to continue to work to ensure stability in the Asia-Pacific region as well as on projects involving impacts of climate change as Bangladesh is considered to be one of the worst victims of change of weather.
She said that France has reiterated its commitment to facilitate trade with the South Asian nation under the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus, or GSP+, scheme, which gives developing countries incentives to pursue sustainable development and good governance.
Experts say once Bangladesh joins the GSP+ scheme, it may lose some benefits it enjoys under the World Trade Organization’s protocol as a least developed country as it may be fully upgraded into a developing nation status.
Bangladesh has long been buying aircraft from the American company Boeing, but recently the government has signed an agreement with Airbus in which France has a major stake.
Hasina has been under pressure lately with her seeking a fourth consecutive term as prime minister.
Bangladesh’s main opposition party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has threatened to boycott the election if Hasina does not resign and hand over power to a caretaker government to oversee the next election. Zia’s party accused her of vote rigging in 2018.
The U.S. has been pushing for a credible election and raised questions about human rights under Hasina’s rule, threatening to impose visa sanctions if the next election isn’t free and fair.
Russia and China have pledged continued support to Hasina while neighboring India has maintained a cordial relationship with her.
Apart from investment and other partnerships with France, Marcon’s visit is seen as a boost for Hasina in the run-up to the election.
veryGood! (17883)
Related
- Mandy Moore Captures the Holiday Vibe With These No Brainer Gifts & Stocking Stuffer Must-Haves
- Police arrest a 4th teen in a drive-by shooting that killed a 5-year-old Albuquerque girl
- As Companies Eye Massive Lithium Deposits in California’s Salton Sea, Locals Anticipate a Mixed Bag
- Man dies after NYPD sergeant hurls cooler, knocks him off motorbike; officer suspended
- Wisconsin’s high court to hear oral arguments on whether an 1849 abortion ban remains valid
- Is $4.3 million the new retirement number?
- Legendary Price Is Right Host Bob Barker Dead at 99
- Jessica Alba’s Husband Cash Warren Reveals They Previously Broke Up Over Jealousy
- Dwayne Johnson Admits to Peeing in Bottles on Set After Behavior Controversy
- Maui has released the names of 388 people still missing after deadly wildfire
Ranking
- A $1 billion proposal is the latest plan to refurbish and save the iconic Houston Astrodome
- Maui County releases names of 388 people unaccounted for since the devastating wildfires
- AI chips, shared trips, and a shorter work week
- California man to be taken to Mexico in 3 killings; 4th possible. What you need to know.
- 32-year-old Maryland woman dies after golf cart accident
- Hidden shipwreck from World War I revealed at bottom of Texas river amid hot, dry weather
- White man convicted of killing Black Muslim freed after judge orders new trial
- Rangers hire Hall of Fame U.S. women’s star Angela Ruggiero as a hockey operations adviser
Recommendation
-
Republican Gabe Evans ousts Democratic US Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado
-
Storms are wreaking havoc on homes. Here's how to make sure your insurance is enough.
-
UAW members practice picketing: As deadline nears, autoworkers are 'ready to strike'
-
Where Southern Charm Exes Madison LeCroy & Austen Kroll Stand After Heated Season 9 Fight
-
Kentucky governor says investigators will determine what caused deadly Louisville factory explosion
-
Longtime 'Price Is Right' host Bob Barker dies at 99
-
Pakistani doctor who sought to support Islamic State terror group sentenced in Minnesota to 18 years
-
Appellate judges revive Jewish couple’s lawsuit alleging adoption bias under Tennessee law