Fair terms key to EU investment
Bangladesh’s effort to secure broader trade and investment opportunities with Europe will depend increasingly on whether European businesses see the country as offering fair and predictable conditions, French Ambassador Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet said on Monday, putting a level playing field at the centre of future trade diplomacy.
“What matters for us is that there is a level playing field. If it’s not the case, European companies won’t come to Bangladesh,” he said.
Speaking at a session titled “The New Strategic Middle” at the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 in Dhaka, Séré-Charlet said any decision by European companies not to invest in Bangladesh would be based on their own assessment rather than restrictions imposed by France, Germany or the European Commission.
“It’s not the French government or the German government, or the EU Commission, which will forbid [them],” he said, stressing that European companies themselves would determine whether to invest based on how they were treated in Bangladesh.
The ambassador said the European Union had free trade agreements with many countries and wanted European companies operating in Bangladesh to receive treatment comparable to that enjoyed by businesses from other partner countries.
Asked about Bangladesh’s agreement with the United States, he said the matter was for the Bangladesh government to address.
“I have no comment to make on that,” Séré-Charlet said.
On the prospect of a free trade agreement between Bangladesh and the EU, he said formal negotiations had not yet begun.
Bangladesh has expressed interest in such an agreement, but any decision to launch negotiations would have to be taken in Brussels, he said.
Séré-Charlet described an FTA as a long-term process involving “give and take”, with the ultimate aim of creating a level playing field for businesses.
The ambassador also highlighted Europe’s drive for greater “strategic autonomy”, saying it would enable European countries to make decisions based on their own interests without becoming overly dependent on any single major power.
“Cooperation is better than confrontation, partnering is better than threatening,” he said.
He stressed, however, that strategic autonomy should not be interpreted as isolation.
“To be autonomous doesn’t mean to be alone and totally isolated from the rest of the world,” he said.
The remarks came amid a wider discussion on how middle and smaller powers, including Bangladesh, are seeking to navigate an increasingly competitive global environment.
Séré-Charlet said economic competition and the ability to master emerging technologies had become major challenges for countries, requiring Europe to draw lessons from the past while preparing for future changes.
Jovan Ratkovic, senior fellow at the Agora Strategy Institute, said the international system was moving beyond traditional non-alignment towards “multi-alignment”, with countries increasingly seeking relationships with multiple powers based on their interests.
German Ambassador Rüdiger Lotz said countries could choose different partners for different areas of cooperation, provided they retained the freedom to make such choices.
The discussion highlighted the growing importance of flexibility, economic interests and strategic autonomy as middle and smaller powers seek to expand partnerships without becoming overly dependent on any single major power.
