Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, French President Emmanuel Macron, heads of Francophone member delegations pose for a group photo (Photo: VNA)  

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam attended the opening session of the 19th Francophonie Summit held at Villers-Cotterêts castle, France on October 4.

Opening the summit, themed "Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in French," French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised the special bond between countries that use French, saying that the Francophone community needs to continue promoting cooperation so that French becomes the language of culture, trade and innovation.

  Party General Secretary and State President To Lam attends the 19th Francophonie Summit (Photo: VNA)  

He highlighted the fundamental values of the Francophone community which are solidarity, sharing, recognition of cultural and linguistic diversity as well as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, and promotion of peace and prosperity.

Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo said that the organisation will continue reforming to meet rapid changes of the current situation, with focus on digital transformation, sustainable development, support for programmes of women and youth, while promoting teaching and learning in French, entrepreneurship in French.

  French President Emmanuel Macron and Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo welcome Party General Secretary and State President To Lam (Photo: VNA) 

The same day, the top Vietnamese leader attended a banquet hosted by the French President, delivered a speech at the FrancoTech 2024, a trade fair for innovation, and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Benin’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

Lam is set to deliver a key speech at the summit on October 5. He will have meetings and discussions with leaders of many countries and international organisations to boost bilateral and multilateral diplomatic, politic, economic and trade cooperation.

The 19 Francophonie Summit is taking place on October 4-5 in France. The opening session was held at Villers-Cotterêts castle. Various activities are being held within the summit’s framework, including FrancoTech 2024, Francophone cultural village and Francophone festival./.