Vice President arrives in Tunisia for 18th Francophonie Summit
Tunis (VNA) – Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan arrived
in Djerba city, Tunisia on November 18 (local time) to attend the 18th Francophonie Summit at the invitation of Tunisian President Kais Saied.
The summit, themed “Connectivity in diversity – the digital vector
of development and solidarity in the French-speaking world” will be held from November 19-20, with
discussions on political and economic situation in the world.
On the occasion, the summit
will hold a ceremony marking the 50th founding anniversary of the
Francophone Community, elect the General Secretary of the Francophone Community
for the 2023-2026 tenure; consider the adoption of many documents such as the Djerba
Declaration, the Resolution on crisis situation, escape from crisis and consolidating
peace in Francophone space; the Strategic Framework on Francophone Community Cooperation
for the 2023-2030 period, and regulations on admission procedures and changes
to the community’s membership rules.
Founded in 1970, the
Francophone Community groups 88 member states with the goal of sharing French
language and universal values for the sake of peace, cooperation, solidarity
and sustainable development. The members are from five continents, with about 220
million French speakers out of a population of 890 million.
The community has made
efforts to affirm its international position and strengthen relations with international
and regional organisations such as the United Nations, the African Union, the
European Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN). From the traditional cultural and technical cooperation,
the community has made a strong shift to political activities while culture and
language remain a top priority. The safeguarding of cultural diversity and
French language at international forums has always been its consistent goal.
Fully, actively and substantively
joining most of the community’s priority issues, Vietnam has been a key Asia-Pacific member that
has an important voice in the planning and implementation of the community’s
cooperation strategy./.