President Tran Dai Quang speaks at a conference in Madagascar

President Tran Dai Quang attended and delivered a speech at the 16th Summit of Francophone Countries.

On the morning of November 26, local time, or this afternoon, Hanoi time, at the International Conference Center in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, the solemn opening ceremony of the 16th Summit of Francophone Countries took place.

The conference was attended by 30 Presidents, Prime Ministers and many senior leaders of 80 members of the International Organization of La Francophonie, many international and regional organizations. President Tran Dai Quang led the Vietnamese delegation to the conference.

At the beginning of his speech at the opening ceremony, on behalf of the leaders of the Party, State and people of Vietnam, President Tran Dai Quang sent to the State and people of Cuba his deepest condolences on the passing of leader Fidel Castro.

President Tran Dai Quang speaks at the Antananarivo summit.

The President of the host country Madagascar, the President of Senegal (current president of the Francophone Summit), the President of France, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Presidents/Prime Ministers of several countries representing different geographical regions delivered speeches, focusing on the theme of the Conference: “Inclusive growth and responsible development: Conditions for ensuring stability in the world and in the Francophone space”.

President Tran Dai Quang was the only representative from the Asia-Pacific region to speak at the opening ceremony of the Conference.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Tran Dai Quang stated that with the great efforts of member countries and the effective support of the International Organization of La Francophonie, the Francophone Community has achieved important results in implementing the Millennium Development Goals, especially in hunger eradication, poverty reduction, improving the quality of education, healthcare, people's living standards, environmental protection, promoting gender equality, and protecting and caring for children.

The President stressed that Vietnam welcomes the Francophone Community's efforts to promote linguistic and cultural diversity, protect and preserve national cultural identity in the context of globalization, and strengthen economic cooperation between member countries and countries around the world.

President Tran Dai Quang expressed his delight at the Francophone community's active contributions to the international community's joint efforts to achieve important global agreements, especially the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The Climate Change Agreement adopted in Paris and coming into force on November 4, 2016, as well as the first negotiations on the implementation of the Paris Agreement recently demonstrate the strong determination of the international community and Francophone countries to build a world of peace, stability, sustainable development and “no one is left behind”.

The President said that as an active and responsible member of the Francophone Community, Vietnam has proactively participated in implementing the Community's cooperation strategies and programs, making important contributions to strengthening solidarity and unity within the bloc, expanding cooperation among member countries, thereby contributing to common prosperity.

With the desire to narrow the development gap between countries and within each country, and to promote the responsibility for environmental protection and sustainable development, the President said that Vietnam welcomes the theme of this Conference, "Equal growth and responsible development: Conditions for ensuring stability in the world and in the Francophone space".

President Tran Dai Quang attends the Antananarivo conference.

To concretize the theme of the Conference, the President suggested that the Francophone Community prioritize promoting cooperation and strengthening solidarity for peace, stability and sustainable development. Along with traditional cooperation in politics, linguistic and cultural diversity, the Francophone Community needs to further strengthen economic cooperation and effectively implement the Francophone Economic Strategy that Vietnam and other countries initiated at the Hanoi Francophone Summit in 1997. In particular, priority should be given to promoting connectivity between developing economies and supporting these countries in international economic integration.

President Tran Dai Quang emphasized: “Vietnam welcomes the relevant contents in the draft Conference Declaration, demonstrating our strong commitment to promoting Francophone economic cooperation, South-South cooperation and trilateral cooperation. With successful, socially responsible and community-beneficial cooperation models that Vietnamese enterprises have built in a number of Francophone countries in agriculture, information - telecommunications, hydropower... Vietnam advocates and is ready to further deepen economic cooperation with Francophone countries; exchange and share experiences in socio-economic development with member countries, especially African countries."

The President suggested that the Community should promote and support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, build global partnerships, ensure resources, transfer technology, and improve implementation capacity for developing countries. In addition, it is necessary to increase support for member countries to integrate sustainable development goals and commitments under the Paris Agreement into national development strategies and programs. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to exchanging and sharing experiences in responding to climate change, reducing natural disaster risks, promoting green growth, and using renewable energy.

President Tran Dai Quang proposed to actively participate in international and regional efforts to promote peace, security and stability in member countries and around the world. Vietnam hopes that the Francophone community will continue to have an objective voice on the situation in the East Sea, calling on relevant parties not to use force or threaten to use force, to resolve disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to respect diplomatic and legal processes, to comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and to soon move towards a Code of Conduct.

Peace and stability are solid foundations for development. Peace and stability can only be maintained through sustainable development. This is a great lesson that Vietnam has learned through continuous and persistent efforts in maintaining a peaceful and stable environment to create favorable conditions for the cause of national construction, protection and development.

President Tran Dai Quang said that in today's turbulent world, no country, big or small, rich or poor, can unilaterally and effectively deal with traditional and non-traditional security challenges. There needs to be solidarity, unity, and close cooperation between Francophone countries and the international community.

In that spirit, the President welcomed the Secretary General of the Francophone for her recent successful visit to Vietnam and the region. The President affirmed that Vietnam is ready to be a bridge between the Francophone Community and the ASEAN Community and the Asia-Pacific region to join hands and unite for a world of peace, stability and sustainable development./.

According to VOV