State President Tran Dai Quang led a Vietnamese delegation to partake in the 16th Francophone Summit in Antananarivo, Madagascar
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Madagascar's PM Olivvier Solonandrasana (R) welcomes Vietnamese State President Tran Dai Quang and his spouse at the Ivato international airport - Photo: VNA |
The visit will be made from November 26-27 at the invitation of Madagascar President Hery Rajaonarimampianina.
The Francophone comprises 80 members and observers from five continents with around 220 million French speakers.
Vietnam officially joined the Agence intergouvernementale de la francophonie (ACCT), the forerunner of the Francophone in 1979. Since then, Vietnam has participated in different organizations of the Francophone. Especially, Vietnam has participated in all Summits of the Francophone since the first one which was held in February, 1986 in Paris.
Vietnam has made substantial contributions to the community. The country has been elected to many important positions of the community such as President of the Permanent Council of the International Organization of La Francophonie and President of the Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie for 1996-1997.
In recent years, the International Organization of La Francophonie and relevant agencies have coordinated with a number of Francophone member countries to implement projects in Vietnam.
The Summit will be chaired by the President of Madagascar. The Conference of Heads of State and Government of the countries that share the French language, commonly called “Francophone Summit” is the highest authority in La Francophone.
At the summit and as every two years since its creation in 1986, the Heads of State or Government attending will discuss international politics, global economy, Francophone cooperation, human rights, education, culture and democracy.