Dhaka, French President Emmanuel Macron reached Bangladesh on Sunday after attending the G20 conference held in India. The special thing is that this is the first historic visit of a French President to Bangladesh in 33 years. President Macron, who was on a two-day visit, was given a 21-gun salute as the highest state honor.

Both the leaders had participated in the G-20 summit in India. Now Macron and Hasina will hold a bilateral meeting on Monday. According to Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry, the two leaders are expected to sign two bilateral agreements and hold a joint press conference.

Macron is the second French president to visit Bangladesh, 33 years after President Francois Mitterrand visited Dhaka in 1990. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh and France will discuss issues like climate change and regulated migration during the talks besides discussing ways to increase trade and investment between them.

The French President will pay tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Monday. The French President is accompanied, among others, by Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonnade. Hasina visited France in November 2021 at the invitation of Macron.

Bilateral trade relations began to grow in the early 1990s, while total trade between Bangladesh and France has grown from 210 million Euros to 4.9 billion Euros today and France is Bangladesh's 5th largest export destination. Bangladeshi trade officials said French companies are now involved in various sectors including engineering, energy, aerospace and water sectors.