French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday assured Bangladesh of his country's humanitarian support and playing a due role in the UN and other international forums to find a permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis.

Macron came up with the assurance during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Elysee Palace here.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said Macron wanted to know about the present status of the Rohingya crisis, what Bangladesh was doing and what it expected from France.

Hasina in reply said over one million forcibly displaced Rohingyas were living in Bangladesh which was a big burden on the country and it was also causing problems to the country's environment.

The premier briefly mentioned the five-point proposal that she had placed in the last UN General Assembly. She said the real solution to the problem lies in the implementation of these proposals.

The Bangladesh foreign minister recently visited Myanmar and signed a bilateral agreement with the country, she added.

“We inked the bilateral agreement, but we want the international community to continue their support [to Bangladesh] and keep up the pressure [on Myanmar] in this regard, or else the agreement would not be implemented.”

Shahidul said the PM and the French president agreed to form a joint economic commission to explore the trade and investment potentials of the two countries. “The modalities of this commission will be decided later.”

Macron called upon Hasina to identify the priority sectors for French investment.

The PM in this regard mentioned energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and ICT sectors, and special economic zones.

Describing terrorism and militancy as a global problem, Hasina said Bangladesh maintains a “zero-tolerance” policy about the two menaces and has been handling those with an iron hand.

The two leaders started their discussion with the climate change issue as the PM is now in Paris to attend a climate change summit.

Hasina said Bangladesh is the worst victim of climate change although it has no contribution to global carbon emissions.

She thanked the French president for taking the initiative to hold the summit against the backdrop of US withdrawal from the climate change pact and completion of two years of signing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Macron said the current summit was about action and the action would be taken by all to implement the Paris Agreement.

Accepting Hasina's invitation to visit Bangladesh, the French president said he might travel to Dhaka at the beginning of the next year during his Asia tour.

Earlier, the French president received the Bangladesh PM at the Elysee Palace. She was given a guard of honour.

“After the meeting, the president also saw the prime minister off at the gate,” the foreign secretary said.

Senior Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Suraiya Begum and Bangladesh Ambassador to France Quazi Imtiaz Hossain were present.