French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday took a boat trip on the Turag River before wrapping up his visit in Bangladesh. He experienced life around the Turag River during the unscheduled visit to the river. French president enjoyed the ride on a traditional panshi boat operated by Contic.

The boat trip was organized by the Embassy of France in Dhaka and Friendship SPO. The organizers said this boat trip in rural Bangladesh highlighted river-centric life and culture. French President Macron enjoyed festivities including a boat race, music with traditional instruments, folk songs, and local fishing demos.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Special Envoy to the Honorable Prime Minister for Climate Change Saber Hossain Chowdhury, French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy, Friendship founder Runa Khan, and high-ranking officials of the two countries accompanied Macron on the trip.

Hasan Mahmud uploaded two photos on his Facebook profile and wrote: “Selfie with French President Honorable Emmanuel Macron after boat trip on Turag River, Dhaka. He enjoyed the boat trip a lot.” The French president arrived on Sunday at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

This was the first visit by any French President in the last three decades. Former French president Mitterrand visited Bangladesh on February 22-24, 1990. President Macron held a summit meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Prime Minister's Office on Monday.

He joined a banquet to be hosted by her in honour of the French President on Sunday. Bangladesh and France on signed two bilateral instruments to improve cooperation in urban governance and infrastructure, as well as to build the first-ever earth observation satellite.

The governments sincerely hoped that the visit of the French President to Bangladesh will further elevate the friendly relations between the two countries to a new height.