'Opportunity To Make Progress In...': French President Macron Confirms G20 Summit Participation

G20 Summit India: Macron's confirmation comes even as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin have decided to skip the two-day summit in Delhi.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife French First Lady Brigitte Macron

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French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his participation in the G20 Leaders' Summit in Delhi on September 9-10. Macron will then travel to Bangladesh on September 10 for a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a statement from the President's Office said.

Macron's confirmation comes even as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin have decided to skip the two-day summit in Delhi. China will be represented by Premier Li Qiang, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the event.

The President's Office said the upcoming G20 Summit, being held under India's presidency, would be an opportunity to make progress in implementing joint responses to major global challenges like peace and stability, poverty alleviation, protection of climate and our planet, food security, and digital regulation.

"The G20 Summit will enable France's Head of State to continue his ongoing dialogue with his counterparts from every continent, so as to combat the risks of fragmentation of the world," the statement said.

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France said the G20 Summit would also provide an opportunity to follow up on the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact held in Paris in June 2022. The summit, attended by more than 300 states and organizations, had led to the establishment of the Paris Agenda for People and the Planet that aimed to mobilise financial support for developing and low income countries facing the challenges posed by debt, climate change, and poverty.

Macron To Travel To Bangladesh After G20 Summit

After the G20 Summit, Macron will travel to Bangladesh and hold talks with Hasina over France's strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. This will be the first visit by any French President in the last three decades.

Former French President Mitterrand had visited Bangladesh on February 22 to 24, 1990.

"It will also be an opportunity to deepen our bilateral relationship with a country that is undergoing rapid economic development, with France's support, and is seeking to diversify its partnerships," the statement said.

During his Bangladesh visit, Macron will reiterate France's determination to stand by its side on the humanitarian front, given the regular flooding the country faces. 

"Bangladesh and France also have a great commonality of views when it comes to global challenges, particularly with regard to the Paris Agenda for People and the Planet, which Bangladesh actively supports. Bangladesh is also a major contributor to international solidarity efforts, be they through its contingents in peacekeeping operations or in hosting Rohingya refugees," the statement further said.

Macron will also pay homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, a report in The Dhaka Tribune said.