UPDATE - France assures its 'continued support' for Bangladesh's development

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM BANGLADESH PRIME MINISTER; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said France has assured its "continued support" for Bangladesh's development.

“We discussed how to advance bilateral relations and have reached some understanding. Being a development partner, France assured us of its continued support,” she said in a joint news briefing after holding bilateral talks with the visiting French President Emmanuel Macron, who reached Dhaka on a two-day official visit on Sunday.

Paris also assured technical cooperation for Bangladesh's "strategic security infrastructure" development, and the two sides decided to work for the geopolitical peace and stability, the prime minister added.

She said Bangladesh welcomed France's leadership in combating the negative effects of climate change, referring to the 2015 Paris Agreement, adding that they also agreed to advance cooperation on educational, cultural and linguistic exchanges.

Bangladesh’s Finance Ministry also signed a €184 ($197.4 million) credit facility agreement with the French Development Agency "to support urban governance and infrastructure improvement" in the country.

Macron, for his part, thanked Bangladesh for trusting European expertise in aeronautics and announced that Bangladesh has committed to order 10 A350 aircraft from European planemaker Airbus.

The French leader vowed further support for Bangladesh, and hailed its efforts on climate change and peacekeeping.

Macron's visit to Bangladesh, after attending the G-20 summit in India, is the first by a French president in 33 years. Francois Mitterrand visited the South Asian country in 1990.

The French Embassy in Dhaka described the visit as "historical" meant to "strengthen our dialogue with an increasingly strategic partner." It said France is eager to stand by Bangladesh in its development, and ready to support it to overcome its major challenges.

*Nur Asena Erturk contributed to this story from Ankara