French ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy on Sunday said that democracy was about ‘liberty, equality, fraternity and inclusivity’ and noted that the country was then heading towards truly ‘democratic elections’ under the ‘wise and remarkable’ leadership of chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
‘The road is paved with many obstacles but courage and determination will no doubt allow removing them,’ she said while speaking at a reception marking France’s National Day.
Food adviser Ali Imam Majumder attended the reception as chief guest.
The envoy said that freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and press freedom were also cornerstones on that tortuous path and they had to go along with fair justice of course.
‘Between 1789 and the consolidation of democracy in France, it took us almost 100 years. I am confident you [Bangladesh] will achieve it much faster than we did,’ she said, adding that in the context of the ongoing transition, they understood the need to be patient.
Masdupuy said that France’s main leading objective in relation to Bangladesh remained to see the country gaining more and more strategic autonomy.
She announced that, in the coming months, they would be working towards strengthening bilateral spatial cooperation. ‘The main goal will be to enhance Bangladesh’s sovereign capacity in understanding climate change through satellite data.’
Masdupuy said that some projects were under review as there was too much corruption and fighting against it should indeed be an absolute necessity.
‘France has been in the last 10 years an important development partner of Bangladesh and intends to remain so,’ she said.
In the cultural field, Masdupuy said that their activities had been thriving in the last months, as they celebrated the 65th and 60th anniversary of Alliances Françaises in Dhaka and Chattogram.
‘Our education cooperation is also being strengthened with Bangladesh’s public and private universities and they are looking forward to host more Bangladeshi students in France,’ the envoy said.
Bangladesh is going to graduate soon from the least developed country category.
‘We also stand ready to support reforms in the sector of education and health. Improving the education system will be of utmost importance to reduce the migratory pressure,’ she said. ‘Bangladesh can become a critical actor in the Indo-Pacific as it increasingly asserts itself.’
The envoy said that 236 years ago, the people of Paris took over the Bastille, a political prison and a symbol of monarchy. ‘This marked a turning point in what has since then been known as the French Revolution.’
