Nobokontho Desk: Bangladesh’s Ambassador to France Khondker M. Talha, concurrently accredited to the Principality of Monaco, presented his credentials to Prince Albert II, the sovereign of the Principality, in a formal ceremony held at the Palais de Monaco yesterday. He is the first Bangladesh Ambassador to present credentials to Monaco.
On his arrival at the Palace in a ceremonial motorcade fitted with carabinieri outriders Ambassador Talha was presented arms by a smartly turned out contingent of Prince’s Guard Regiment. Chamberlain of the Prince Jean-Luc Carcenac received the Ambassador upon arrival. The Sovereign was flanked by Secretary of State Yvette Lambin Berti, Head of Cabinet Laurent Anselmi, Government Counsellor-Minister for External Relations and Cooperation Isabelle Berro- Amadei, when the Ambassador presented his credentials.
Following the presentation of the letter of credence, the Bangladesh Ambassador had a brief meeting with H.S.H the Prince. He conveyed warm greetings of the President and the Prime Minister to the Prince. Accepting the appointment of the Ambassador, Prince Albert expressed his happiness that a formal relation between the two states had thus been established. During the conversation the Prince showed his particular interest on the issues of development and climate change. The Ambassador briefed him on the birth and journey of Bangladesh under the leadership of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and of the spectacular development and progress Bangladesh had achieved under the able and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the last fourteen years.
The Ambassador shared the vision of transforming the country into Smart Bangladesh by 2041 and briefed the Prince on the thrust sectors of Bangladesh economy. He added that according to think tanks, Bangladesh is set to be among the top 20 largest economies of the world by 2041. Prince Albert viewed that it would be a remarkable achievement given the circumstances from where Bangladesh started its journey.
He expressed hope that relations between Monaco and Bangladesh would be further strengthened in the days ahead and both the countries could work together in various areas of mutual interest in the multilateral institutions. Before bidding farewell to the newly appointed Bangladesh Ambassador, Prince Albert requested him to convey his best wishes to the Hon’ble President and the Hon’ble Prime Minister, while the Ambassador invited him on their behalf to pay a visit to Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.
Following the presentation of credentials, the Ambassador held a business meeting with Executive Director General of Monaco Economic Board Guillaume Rose. They discussed the prospects of trade, investment and sectoral cooperation between Bangladesh and Monaco and agreed to further follow up to create business to business links.
The Ambassador then attended a lunch hosted by the Minister for External Relations and Cooperation Mrs. Isabelle Berro- Amadei in his honour where other dignitaries attended. They discussed the issues of bilateral and multilateral concern during lunch.