At the upcoming 19th Francophonie Summit, in an interview granted ahead of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s attendance and his official visit to France, the diplomat said the presence of the Vietnamese top leader at the summit for the first time marks a new milestone, affirming the nation's highest-level commitment to the development of the Francophone community, as well as showcasing its efforts to enhance the image and presence of the Francophone community in the Asia-Pacific region.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang talked about the Francophonie Summit. (Source: VNA)

This also illustrates Vietnam's willingness to act as a bridge to promote the relationship between the Francophone community and the region, thereby elevating national and community standing on the international stage.

According to him, this high-level diplomatic activity will play an important role in implementing the foreign policy of multilateralisation and persification and active international integration, attaching importance to multilateralism and demonstrating Vietnam's active and responsible membership in the international community in general and the Francophone community in particular.

Through interactions and exchanges with leaders of the OIF and member countries, partners have recognized Vietnam's commitment and contributions to preparing for this summit and showed their hope that based on the solid foundation that the OIF and Vietnam have built together, Vietnam and the Francophone community will continue to nurture and elevate their long-term and sustainable cooperation and partnership in the coming time, stated Thang.

Regarding Vietnam’s role in the OIF, the diplomat said that for years, Vietnam has fully and effectively participated in most of the community's priority issues, from planning cooperation strategies to promoting reforms. As a result, it is regarded as a key player and an important voice of the OIF in the Asia-Pacific, reflected by the fact that member countries have repeatedly entrusted Vietnam to hold important positions within the organization.

Regarding French language teaching, it has implemented numerous initiatives and projects supported by member countries, particularly France, Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland. Since 2014, Vietnam has proactively made voluntary contributions to the Francophone University Agency (AUF), thus helping improve French language education at 47 Vietnamese universities that are AUF members.

As for economic cooperation, Vietnam was the country that initiated economic cooperation within the Francophonie community at the 7th Francophonie Summit held in 1997 in Hanoi. As Chair of the OIF’s economic committee, it successfully coordinated the drafting of the Francophone Economic Development Strategy for 2020-2025. The country was also the first stop of a Francophone business delegation in a series of activities to implement this strategy.

To enhance cooperation between Vietnam and the OIF, Thang stressed the need to create significant changes in key areas that meet the community's and individual countries' development needs.

In this spirit, he added that the two sides should establish a comprehensive policy to guide cooperation toward developing member countries and effectively combine this with the participation of developed nations.