Blitz Bureau
IN a snub to Muhammad Yunus, French President Emmanuel Macron has turned down Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor invitation for a bilateral meeting during the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, on June 9. In response to the rejection, Yunus has cancelled his France tour altogether. This is a setback for Dhaka’s efforts in recent times to better its position on the international scene.
After being invited to the forum, Bangladesh had made a special request for a one-on-one meeting between Macron and Yunus. French authorities, however, told Dhaka that President Macron would not be able to make it. They referred to a busy diplomatic schedule and several earlier bilateral meeting requests by other participating nations.
The French side also wanted a clarification on why the meeting was being convened, showing reluctance to hold talks simply for diplomatic purposes. The move is a setback to the interim regime’s bid for international legitimacy through symbolic gestures. The snub from Macron also comes in the wake of Bangladesh’s stalled negotiations with France over the purchase of civilian aircraft — an issue that had earlier fuelled bilateral interest but has lost steam since.
Yunus has been trying to snag meetings with prominent leaders from across the world to consolidate Bangladesh’s position as the situation in the country took a turn for the worse following the dismissal of Sheikh Hasina’s government. Last month, Yunus met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit in Bangkok. This was the first time PM Modi met Yunus.