Vietnam to observe Int’l Francophone Day hinh anh 1The ceremony to mark the International Francophone Day in 2015 (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – A ceremony will be held on March 18 in Hanoi to celebrate International Francophone Day (March 20).

The event will be jointly organised by the Foreign Ministry, the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) and the group of Francophone embassies, missions and organisations (GADIF), said Jean Lesly Benoit, Haitian Ambassador to Vietnam and GADIF Chairman at a press conference on March 10.

With the theme “the power of language”, this year’s Francophone Day aims to raise the public awareness on the importance of the French language in various fields, including politics, diplomacy and economics.

Honorary and Francophone youth awards will also be presenting during the ceremony, according to Benoit.

Vietnam was one of the founder countries of the Francophonie in 1970.

Over the last years, the OIF has maintained an active cooperation with Vietnam, featuring the exchange of training and technical expertise in a number of fields.

French is spoken by 220 million people across the world.-VNA
VNA