French President Emmanuel Macron has refused to meet Mohammad Yunus, the head of the interim government of Bangladesh. This meeting was to be held in Nice, France on 9 june 2025 during the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference. bangladesh had requested the French government for a bilateral meeting between Macron and Yunus, but france rejected it in clear words. After this, Yunus's visit to france has been canceled.
This incident gives a severe blow to Bangladesh's foreign policy and Mohammad Yunus' strategy to create a global identity. France has made it clear that it does not want to hold any new bilateral meeting during this conference. Macron has already scheduled bilateral meetings with the leaders of many countries. The French side is avoiding participating in meetings that give only political messages. Let us tell you that france is India's best friend.
Impact on Bangladesh's strategy
It is believed that the main objective of Yunus' visit was to gain support for the interim government of bangladesh on international forums. Yunus wanted that by meeting a big leader like Macron, a signal of global legitimacy should be sent. Positive propaganda can be done on the international platform about the current situation of Bangladesh. Now that this meeting has been cancelled, bangladesh may have to send a ministerial level representative to represent it in France.
Any impact of the aircraft deal?
Another interesting aspect is that bangladesh had previously shown interest in purchasing civilian aircraft from france, but there was no significant progress in that direction. However, it has been clarified by France that Macron's refusal has nothing to do with the aircraft deal. France's priority is clear that participation in the conference is to remain an issue and bilateral discussions are to be kept separate.
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