The 13 th Francophone Summit themed “Challenges and future vision for the Francophone Community” concluded in Montreux , Switzerland , on October 24 after adopting the Montreux Declaration.

The joint declaration endorsed by 70 participating countries said the International Organisation of the Francophone (OIF)’s member countries will continue to put stress on democracy, human rights and gender equality, which help create key values of the community.

French language is the key to cooperation and solidarity, helping boost the diversity in terms of culture and language within the bloc, the deceleration said.

The three-day summit discussed a broad range of issues, including international relations and the Francophone Community’s current position in global governance; challenges to sustainable development, food security and climate change; and the French language and education in globalised world.

The participants committed to acting together to cope with challenges facing the aforementioned issues and continue innovation in finance and the international monetary system.

The summit admitted five countries as observers of the OIF, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates.

Abdou Diouf was re-elected as general secretary of the Francophone Community. Summit participants agreed to hold the 14 th summit in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012.

According to the organising board, 3,000 representatives from some 70 countries, as well as 38 heads of state and government, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, attended the meeting.

On the sidelines of the summit, Vietnamese Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan had bilateral meetings with leaders of several French-speaking countries to discuss issues of mutual interest to boost the relationship of Vietnam with these nations.

Established in 1970, OIF’s mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 70 member states and governments (56 members and 14 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations' member states and account for a population of over 870 million people, including 200 million French speakers. In Vietnam , 470,000 people use French./.