Mitigating climate change impact
Germany, France assure support
In the run-up to the crucial climate conference COP21, to be held in Paris this December, Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, foreign minister of Germany, and his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, visited Bangladesh yesterday.
Responding to the invitation of Bangladesh foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, the two dignitaries came on a brief 14-hour visit to get a first-hand experience of the climate change impact on this country.
This was the first visit of any French foreign minister to Bangladesh. During a press conference at the French International School in the Baridhara Diplomatic Zone in the afternoon, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, who is going to be the chairperson of the upcoming COP21, said Bangladesh is the big concern of climate change. We are extremely interested in working with Bangladesh because we are highly concerned about the situation here, he said. Bangladesh is not responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, the cause of climate change, but it is facing most of the difficulties, he added. We want to help you in this regard with technology and finance, the minister said.
