dpa
Dhaka
Dhaka and Paris have inked a deal to support Bangladesh to launch an Earth observation satellite system.
The letter of intent between the state-run Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited and France’s Airbus Defence and Space company - which designs, develops and builds civil and military space transportation systems - was signed on Monday after Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and French President Emmanuel Macron had talks in Dhaka, according to an official at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Macron arrived in Dhaka from New Delhi on Sunday evening on a short visit to Bangladesh after attending the G20 summit in India.
The two leaders discussed geopolitical stability in the Asia Pacific region, supporting Bangladesh’s infrastructure development and combating the impact of climate change, among others, during nearly an hour of meeting, said official press officer Shakhawat Moon.
Bangladesh has been planning to launch its second satellite, a low-Earth orbit observation satellite for environmental and meteorological monitoring, cartography and defence purposes ever since it sent its first satellite into space five years ago.
The budget estimation for the second satellite was not known.
The first satellite, Bangabandhu-1, a geostationary communication satellite, cost $248mn, according to the aerospace technology website data.
Macron is the first French president to visit Bangladesh in the last 33 years. Then-French president François Mitterrand visited the South Asian country in 1990.
Bangladesh exported goods, mostly garments, worth about $3.29bn to France between July 2022 and June 2023, according to the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau.
France’s exports to Bangladesh were worth about $254.32mn in 2022, according to UN database on international trade.