The President of Vietnam attends the Summit of French-speaking countries.
The President attended the conference amidst the ongoing strengthening and enhancement of cooperative relations between Vietnam and the Francophone Community.
Today (November 25), President Tran Dai Quang led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the 16th Summit of Francophone Countries, held in Antananarivo, Madagascar, from November 26-27, 2016.
The Vietnamese delegation is attending the conference amidst the ongoing strengthening and enhancement of cooperative relations between Vietnam and the Francophone Community.
Following the initiative of the late President Léopold Sédar Senghor, a movement began in the early 1960s to establish a Community of French-speaking countries with the aim of strengthening cultural, scientific, and technical relations.
Subsequently, many international organizations using French were established, such as the Conference of Ministers of Education of French-speaking countries; the Association of Universities using French partially or wholly; the Union of French-speaking Parliamentarians, etc.
On March 20, 1970, the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), now the OIF, was established. Consequently, the Francophone Community adopted March 20 as International Francophone Day. However, in the early stages, Francophone cooperation within these organizations remained largely professional and technical in nature, failing to meet the aspirations of many countries seeking an organization with significant political stature and a substantial voice in international relations.
Therefore, in February 1986, at the initiative of the late French President Francois Mitterrand, the first Summit of French-speaking countries was held in Paris, with the participation of nearly 40 heads of state and government from French-speaking countries. This marked the official establishment of the Community of French-speaking Countries.
Since then, the Community has held 15 summits. Currently, the Community has a total of 80 members and observers from 5 continents, with approximately 220 million French speakers out of a total population of 890 million. Culture and language remain among the Community's top priorities. Protecting cultural and linguistic diversity is a consistent goal of the Community and is linked to promoting the French language in international forums.
Vietnam officially joined the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT) – the predecessor of the International Organization of Francophonie – in 1979. Since then, Vietnam has participated in various organizations of the Francophone Community. In particular, Vietnam has actively attended all Summit Meetings of the Community since the first one held in February 1986 in Paris. This is the highest political institution of the Community.
Vietnam has also made substantial contributions to various bodies and institutions of the Community, such as serving as President of the Francophone Permanent Council (1996), President of the Francophone Ministerial Conference (1996-1997), President of the Francophone Summit (1997-1998), Vice President of the Francophone Parliamentary Body (2007-2009 and 2009-2011), Vice President of the Finance and Administration Committee (2009-2011 and 2011-2013), and President of the Cooperation and Programme Committee (2013-2015) of the Francophone Permanent Council.
Vietnam has always actively contributed to strengthening and developing the Community in the following ways: protecting and enhancing Francophone solidarity – a precious tradition of the Community, and ensuring harmony between the Community's fundamental development orientations in the political, cultural, and economic fields.
By joining the Francophone Community, Vietnam has the opportunity to expand relations with many African countries, a region with which Vietnam has shared solidarity and mutual support during the struggle for liberation and national independence, but with limited economic cooperation. Simultaneously, it can leverage technical assistance, human resource training, and some aid from developed countries and organizations within the Community, benefiting the country's development.
In 1997, Vietnam hosted the 7th Francophone Summit. This was the first and only Francophone Summit to date held in Asia. The 7th Francophone Summit marked a new phase in the development of the Community by elevating economic cooperation to a field of activity alongside political and cultural-linguistic fields, amending the Francophone Charter, and electing the first Francophone Secretary-General.
By hosting this Conference, Vietnam once again demonstrated its desire and commitment to contributing to the development of the Community. With Vietnam's positive contributions, the Francophone Community has always regarded Vietnam as a leading country in Francophone affairs in the region and an important member of the Community.
Over the years, Vietnam has consistently contributed to strengthening and developing the Community by: protecting and enhancing Francophone solidarity – a precious tradition of the Community – and ensuring harmony between the Community's fundamental development orientations in the political, cultural, and economic fields. Vietnam advocates for proactive, positive, and responsible participation in the activities of the Francophone Community.
Based on this, Vietnam has been, is, and will continue to implement a comprehensive range of activities in the following directions: Strengthening information and communication about Vietnam's consistent and long-term policy towards the Francophone Community; Actively and proactively participating in and contributing to the Francophone Community's common activities for peace and development in member countries; and Supporting and facilitating the development of Francophone Community organizations' cooperative activities in Vietnam.
Vietnam's policy towards the Francophone Community is consistent. Joining the Francophone Community is aimed at concretizing Vietnam's foreign policy of multilateralism, diversification of international relations, and proactive and positive international integration, thereby contributing to peace, development, and prosperity in the world.
According to VOV