Vietnam calls for enhanced cooperation in Francophonie, promotes women's economic empowerment
WVR - On November 19-20, the 46th Francophonie Ministerial Conference took place in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme “Thirty Years after Beijing: Women's Contributions in the French-speaking World”.
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| The 46th Francophonie Ministerial Conference focused on assessing gender equality and women's empowerment in the Francophone space. (Photo: Chu Van) |
The conference was attended by nearly 70 delegations representing 90 member states and governments of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF). The Vietnamese delegation was led by Vietnam's Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, representing the President alongside OIF.
The conference focused on assessing gender equality and women's empowerment in the Francophone space since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on gender equality was adopted in 1994. Discussions aimed to identify priority cooperation directions for the Francophone Community in the coming period, particularly in politics, security, the preservation and development of the French language, economic cooperation, and promoting sustainable development.
The conference acknowledged that despite many challenges, especially in difficult regions of Africa and elsewhere, the Francophone Community has made significant efforts to implement the goals of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and Francophonie in this field. Notably, the active implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy adopted in 2018 and the Francophonie and Women Fund since 2020 has supported nearly 100,000 women in 36 countries to enhance their economic and social autonomy. The implementation of the Economic Strategy 2020-2025 and the Digital Strategy 2022-2026 has strengthened women's training, digitalization, and entrepreneurship programs.
Speaking at the conference, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang affirmed that Vietnam values gender equality and women's empowerment and has achieved significant accomplishments in this field. Vietnam strongly supports Francophonie's efforts in promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls through the active implementation of the Francophonie Gender Equality Strategy and related projects and initiatives.
Vietnam proposed that OIF and Francophone members continue efforts towards peace and stability to create conditions for women's advancement. It emphasized the necessity of integrating gender equality into the core of each nation's development strategy and called for further strengthening of Francophone economic cooperation to promote women's economic empowerment.
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| Vietnam values gender equality, empowers women, and has achieved significant accomplishments in this field. (Photo: Chu Van) |
The conference highly appreciated the achievements and regarded Vietnam as a shining example of success in gender equality and women's empowerment. It also welcomed Vietnam's active contributions to enhancing the image and voice of Francophonie in Asia-Pacific and its work in OIF committees, contributing to improving the effectiveness of OIF's specific programs and activities.
Discussing priority cooperation directions for the future, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emphasized that Francophonie should continue to assert its role as a unifying and cooperative agent, contributing positively to peace and stability, ensuring human development, and common prosperity in the Francophone space and globally.
Additionally, the Ambassador highlighted Francophonie's role in supporting countries to achieve sustainable development goals, digital transformation, green transition, and addressing global challenges while continuing to promote the dissemination and teaching of the French language, educational cooperation, and job creation for women and youth…
The Ambassador also emphasized Vietnam's contributions, including hosting the successful signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime and proposing the International Decade for Culture for Sustainable Development initiative at UNESCO.
The conference adopted the Kigali Call, in which OIF members committed to enhancing data collection on gender equality, ensuring women's participation in all areas of social life, and affirming their commitment to promoting sustainable development based on gender equality.
The conference concluded with the transfer of the conference presidency from France to Cambodia, which will host the 20th Francophonie Summit in 2026 in Siem Reap.
