Macron tries to 'consolidate' with Bangladesh, fend off 'imperialism'
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The president is due to convene again with Hasina on Monday followed by a visit to a memorial to her father, Bangladesh's first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, before going back home.
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Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and French President Emmanuel Macron at a dinner in Dacca, Bangladesh on September 10, 2023 (AFP)
After landing in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka on Sunday following the end of the G20 leaders summit in neighboring India, French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Monday his intention to "consolidate" his country's Indo-Pacific strategy and counterbalance what he called a "new imperialism" in the region in which he sees is competitive with Chinese influence.
"Based on democratic principles and the rule of law, in a region facing new imperialism, we want to propose a third way -- with no intention to bully our partners or to lead them to an unsustainable scheme," Macron told Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in English.
"Bangladesh is progressively retrieving its place on the world stage," Macron added, praising what he referred to as "the tremendous success" of Bangladesh.
The President is due to convene again with Hasina on Monday followed by a visit to a memorial to her father, Bangladesh's first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, before going back home.
Read more: Unveiling the unofficial race to succeed Macron: The Economist
In return, Hasina saw that Macron's "push for strategic autonomy aligns with our own foreign policy" and said: "We find you to be a breath of fresh air in international politics".
Macron's Elysee Palace office released a statement that the visit to the South Asian country serves as "an opportunity to deepen the bilateral relationship with a country which is experiencing rapid economic development... and which seeks to diversify its partnerships".
The office also claimed that Macron had "done more about South Asia than in the space of a decade" in the last six months.
This statement sheds light on France's inability to see what's beyond its eyesight, as nations across Africa are awake and rising against its long-lived colonial strategies and enforced presence on land it does not have any concern in.
For Macron to claim that he wants to counterbalance the 'new imperialism' by China in the South Asian region is not only stirring the pot but is calling for more chaos in a whole different corner of the world.
