French bakery PAUL to open outlets in Dhaka

French food chain PAUL will be opening its outlets in Bangladesh early next year as part of France's renewed initiative to collaborate in the areas of gastronomy, culture, trade and climate, Ambassador Marie Masdupuy has said.

PAUL is a 134-year-old bakery and cafe operated in 47 countries across the globe.

A culinary academy will also be established in Bangladesh where the Bangladeshi can learn French dishes, she said at the launch of a newly designed website of Alliance Francaise de Dhaka (www.afdhaka.org) at her residence in the city yesterday evening.

Masdupuy said France considers Bangladesh as a very important partner in the Indo-Pacific region, and is partnering in various projects and financing initiatives including preserving history and archaeology, arts, apart from climate change, aerospace and trade.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Dhaka in September this year, taking the relations to a new height. In late October, France launched an international campaign "Make it Iconic, Choose France" to enhance the attractiveness of France.

The ambassador said France, through various reforms in the tax regime and other areas, is now the most attractive country in Europe for foreign investments, and its economy is doing well. Annually, 80 million tourists from across the globe visit France.

Asked if Bangladesh can benefit out of what France has achieved, Marie Masdupuy said, Bangladesh is aspiring to become a developed country, and it has a very strong workforce.

"You can learn from the experience of France, especially the reforms we made, the way unemployment has been reduced," she said.

On the other hand, Bangladesh is also a pioneer in climate change adaptation and can teach its unique example to the rest of the world, Marie Massupuy said.

The ambassador said she found politics, food, culture as some of the common areas where the French and the Bangladeshis find lots of interest.

Also, Masdupuy said, France plays critical role in preserving the planet from the impacts of climate change, which is also a very vital part of Bangladesh.

"We can support Bangladesh with our technologies in various sectors including in blue economy, space, renewable energy," she said.