France and Bengladesh

Bilateral relations

In the late 1980s, French-Bangladeshi relations were on a high following President Mitterrand’s visit in 1990 and the French proposal for a flood-prevention development programme. The Prime Minister at the time, Sheikh Hasina, visited France in 1999.

Since then, regular high-level visits have enabled this political dialogue to continue. The Prime Minister, Ms Sheikh Hasina, travelled to France in December 2017 for the One Planet Summit, where she met the President of the French Republic.
France supports Bangladesh, a country that is particularly exposed to climate risks (rising sea levels could claim up to a third of its territory).

In 2016, trade between France and Bangladesh totalled €2.689 billion with a significant trade deficit for France of €2.2bn. Exports to Bangladesh fell 34.7% compared with 2015 due to the drop in sales of agricultural products and currently stand at €189 million, while France’s imports increased by over 40% over two years to reach€2.5 billion. Clothing accounts for the vast majority of France’s imports from Bangladesh due to the European Union’s “Everything But Arms” initiative.

Our cooperation policy with Bangladesh is governed by a cultural cooperation agreement signed on 10 March 1987. It is based most notably on two recognized and long-standing Alliance française branches in Chittagong and Dhaka. The Alliances française branches in Bangladesh work in partnership with the Goethe Institute.

The French Development Agency (AFD) has been working in Bangladesh since 2012 as part of a mandate to promote “green and inclusive growth”. The AFD therefore works in urban development infrastructures, green energy and improving safety standards and environmental and social performance in the textiles industry. These commitments total €367 million.
The Bangladeshi capital is the location for the world’s first shared embassy between France and Germany. It has been in operation since June 2017.

For more information, visit the website of the French Embassy in Bangladesh

^{Updated: 14 June 2018}