DHAKA, Feb 11, 2024 (BSS)-France is interested to enhance collaboration with Bangladesh in combating climate change and promoting sustainable environmental practices.

France came up with the interest when a French delegation called on Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury at his office at the Bangladesh Secretariat here.

The delegation included Marie Masdupuy, French Ambassador in Dhaka; Julien Duer, its Economic Adviser and Stéphane Crouzat, French Ambassador for Climate Change Negotiations.
During the meeting, they discussed on strengthening collaboration between France and Bangladesh in dealing with climate change impacts and promoting sustainable environmental practices.

Both the sides acknowledged the urgency of addressing climate challenges and reaffirmed their commitment to taking multilateral efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change.

They identified the key areas of cooperation - renewable energy development, adaptation strategies, and capacity-building initiatives – emphasising the need for sharing knowledge, technology and resources to enhance resilience and achieve the climate goals.

Minister Saber Hossain expressed his gratitude to the French government for its continued support and highlighted Bangladesh's proactive stance in addressing the climate change issues.

He stressed on taking concerted global action to safeguard vulnerable communities and ecosystems from the adverse effects of climate change.

The climate envoy of France reaffirmed France's commitment to working closely with Bangladesh to advance climate resilience and sustainable development goals.

He applauded Bangladesh's efforts in implementing innovative solutions and underscored the significance of international cooperation in tackling the climate crisis.

Both countries agreed to further deepen their ties through joint ventures, knowledge exchange programmes and policy dialogue.

They stressed the importance of leveraging international platforms, including COP negotiations, to advocate for ambitious climate action and mobilise support for the vulnerable countries.

Additional Secretary (Climate Change) of the ministry Iqbal Abdullah Harun, Joint Secretary Lubna Yeasmine and Methilde Bord Laurans, Yazid Bensaid, Christophe Buffet, Patrick Blin and Cecilia Cortese of the French Development Agency, were present, among others.