Dhaka: French Ambassador to Bangladesh Sophie Aubert has said they are fully committed to anchoring Bangladesh-France bilateral relationship in priority fields of common interests building new bridges between Europe and South Asia.

‘I wish this relationship keeps flourishing in the coming years; I wish more and more people-to-people contacts so that our two countries engage in new fields of cooperation, building new bridges between Europe and South-Asia,’ she said.

The Ambassador made the remark in her message ahead of the French National Day that falls on July 14.

She mentioned scientific cooperation on ocean-related and maritime issues to business and cooperation on water, energy and other strategic sectors as priority fields of common interests saying this approach includes some iconic projects, such as the Bangabandhu satellite.

Ambassador Aubert said security, fight against climate change and sustainable and resilient development are priorities that they share with Bangladesh.

‘Here in Bangladesh, our current events are also more than ever European: France and Germany together have just moved to their new co-located Franco-German Embassy, which is a powerful symbol of our European identity, enshrined in our national identities,’ she said.

The Ambassador mentioned that France and Germany together, the European Union is stronger because they are the core of their European Union.

She said this year has been a very challenging year for France and French people successfully went through, electing their new President, Emmanuel Macron, and granting him a large majority at the National Assembly, to support the implementation of his ambitious program for France and for Europe.

‘I’m proud to see that French people were wise enough to confirm their determination to remain open to the world, despite the wide range of threats weakening our environment,’ she said.

Ambassador Aubert said a better, peaceful world is also a resilient, fair, poverty-free world.

‘This is for France a major challenge for the upcoming decades, which we can collectively handle through implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, and this is a key priority of the EU Global Strategy,’ she said.