Hanoi (VNA) –Vietnam affirmed its commitments to and unity with the Francophone communityduring the 17th Francophonie Summit that opened in Yerevan, Armenia on October11.

The Vietnamesedelegation to the event was led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign MinisterPham Binh Minh. The two-day summit brings together nearly 3,500 delegates from84 member countries and territories of the International Organisation of LaFrancophonie (OIF) and its observers.

Vietnam also reiterated its commitments to multilateralism as wellas multilateral diplomacy, especially in its role as a key OIF member in the Asia-Pacific.

The 17th FrancophonieSummit takes place with the theme “Living together in solidarity, sharinghumanist values, and respect for diversity: Sources of peace and prosperity inthe Francophone space”.

It is held in thecontext of recent global challenges – such as terrorism, disease, waterresource and food security, environmental pollution, climate change, andinternational migration – having caused adverse impact on peace and developmentin many countries, including OIF members.

Therefore, the eventoffers an opportunity for the countries to seek measures to enhance cooperationin response to such challenges.

Over the past time, Vietnam hasconstructively and responsibly participated in OIF activities, tangiblycontributing to cooperation within the community.

Following the plenarysession, Deputy PM Minh and Ambassador Duong Chi Dung – head of the Vietnam Permanent Mission to the UN, the WTO, and other international organisations in Geneva – attendeda retreat on the world’s situation.

The YerevanDeclaration, as well as several other key resolutions and documents, will beadopted at the event.

During bilateralmeetings on the sidelines of the summit, Vietnam plans to mobilise support for itsrun for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for 2020-2021.

Deputy PM Minh isexpected to deliver a speech at a session on October 12.

Established in 1970, theOIF’s mission is to engage active solidarity between its 84 member states andgovernments (58 members and 26 observers), which together represent overone-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population ofover 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers.

The IOF organises multilateral cooperation politicalactivities and actions that benefit French-speaking populations. Its actionsrespect cultural and linguistic diversity and serve to promote the Frenchlanguage, peace, and sustainable development. –VNA