Source: Al Jazeera [Qatar state media]
“French President Emmanuel Macron has visited Bangladesh in a bid to ‘consolidate’ his country’s Indo-Pacific strategy and counterbalance a ‘new imperialism’ in a region where China’s influence is increasingly being extended. ‘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, speaking in English, told Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday. The United States and China are competing for influence in the wider region, and Macron has pushed France as offering an alternative. The former colonial power still hold remnants of its empire as territories, including islands in the Indo-Pacific.” (09/11/23)