International Francophonie Day marked in Hanoi

At the ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Foreign Ministry in coordination with the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) held a ceremony in Hanoi on March 19 marking the International Francophonie Day (March 20).

Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang addresses the event (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang lauded the Francophone community for its achievements over the past five decades in the fields of peace, security, economy, culture and sustainable development.

He hailed the theme “Francophone women, resilient women” of the International Francophonie Day this year to honour women who have made contributions to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic economic recovery to bring lives to the “new normal”.

According to him, Vietnam has made substantial contributions to the common development of the Francophone community, including upholding the role of French language in the United Nations and actively assisting Francophone nations in coping with the pandemic.

Vietnam will continue actively joining in efforts to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in the Francophone space for the sake of peace, stability and sustainable development in the world, he said.

Chief Representative for the Asia-Pacific of the OIF Chekou Oussouman speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

Chekou Oussouman, Chief Representative for the Asia-Pacific of the OIF, for his part, affirmed that Francophone solidarity has been manifested since the onset of COVID-19 outbreak and this year’s theme is an appeal to honour Francophone women.

He also reiterated the OIF’s commitment to fostering economic cooperation in Francophone space, including sending a Francophone economic working group to Vietnam for a trip in October.

On the occasion, Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jensen, who is also Chair of Ambassadors of the Group of Francophone Embassies, Delegations and Institutions in Vietnam (GADIF) presented GADIF awards to Prof. Vo Van Chuong, Dean of the French Faculty at Can Tho University and Tran Cong Danh, manager of VPBank in Ho Chi Minh City.

Tran Cong Danh receives the GADIF award (Photo: VNA)

The annual awards aim to honour outstanding individuals who made important contributions to popularising the French language in Vietnam as well as ties between Vietnam and OIF.

Participants at the event were treated to music performances staged by French and Vietnamese artists./.