(VOVworld)-State President Tran Dai Quang said Vietnam is willing to serve as a bridge linking Francophony with ASEAN and Asia-Pacific communities for a world of peace, stability and sustainable development. As the only Asia-Pacific representative to address the opening session of the 16^th Francophone Summit in Madagascar on Saturday, President Quang welcomes Francophony’s efforts to promote cultural and language diversity while preserving national cultural identities and consolidating economic cooperation. “Vietnam highly values the draft Summit statement which shows our strong commitments to push up Francophone economic cooperation, south-south cooperation and tripartite cooperation. Vietnam’s ready to deepen economic cooperation with Francophone countries and share socio-economic development experiences with other member countries, especially those from Africa”, said President Tran Dai Quang.

President Tran Dai Quang addresses the 16th Francophone Summit in Madagascar (Source: VNA)

President Quang called on Francophony to accelerate and support the implementation of the 2030 agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate change, build global partnerships, ensure sufficient resources and transfer technologies and improve capacity for developing nations. Regarding developments in the East Sea, President Tran Dai Quang said:

“We hope that Francophony will continue to raise an impartial voice on the East Sea issue and call on parties not to use force or threaten to use force, but to settle disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international laws including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, respect diplomatic and legal processes, and honor the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) toward building a Code of Conduct (COC)”.

The 16^th Francophone Summit is attended by 30 presidents and leaders from 80 Francophone members.