General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm at the summit on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

PARIS - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm, who headed a high-ranking delegation of Việt Nam, attended the opening session of the 19th Francophonie Summit held at Villers-Cotterêts castle, France on October 4 (local time).

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.

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.

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 Việt Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Benin’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

Lâm 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. VNS