National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man attends the opening of the APF Executive Committee Conference

The Conference of the Executive Board of the Francophone Parliamentary Union (APF) opened on the afternoon of January 22 in Can Tho city.

This is an important event hosted by the Vietnamese National Assembly, affirming Vietnam's leading role in the activities of the Francophone Community, the International Organization of Francophonie and APF.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man attended and delivered an important speech at the opening session of the Conference.

Attending the opening session were: Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai - Head of the Conference Organizing Committee; representatives of National Assembly agencies, relevant departments, ministries, branches and Can Tho city.

On the APF side, there were: APF President, First Vice President of the Cameroon National Assembly Hilarion Etong; parliaments of the Executive Committee member countries...

Supporting the noble values ​​and goals of the Francophone Community

In his opening speech, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man stated that the Francophone Parliamentary Alliance, which brings together French-speaking parliamentarians with the goal of "pushing governments forward", has been established and developed for more than 50 years. Throughout this process, the Vietnamese National Assembly has always participated and made very positive contributions to the common activities of the APF, including holding a number of important positions in the Executive Committee and regularly hosting APF Conferences.

Active participation in APF activities in particular and the activities of the Francophone Community in general affirms the consistent implementation of an independent and autonomous foreign policy for peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralization and diversification of foreign relations; being a friend, a reliable partner and an active and responsible member of the international community.

The National Assembly Chairman emphasized: Vietnam always shares and supports the noble values ​​and goals of the Francophone Community, which are peace, democracy, cultural and linguistic diversity, solidarity, cooperation and development. These are also the goals that the Vietnamese State and people are striving to achieve in the current comprehensive renovation process and have achieved important achievements in many fields.

The National Assembly of Vietnam, with the function of legislation, supervision and decision on important issues of the country, is the highest representative of the people. The National Assembly is actively innovating its activities towards more efficiency and practicality in the spirit of democracy and the rule of law. Up to now, the National Assembly of Vietnam has built a legal system sufficient in quantity and increasingly improving in quality in all important areas of social life. In the inter-parliamentary diplomatic channel, the National Assembly of Vietnam is an active and responsible member in regional and international inter-parliamentary cooperation frameworks such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Francophone Parliamentary Union, the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Southeast Asian countries and many other inter-parliamentary organizations.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that Vietnam highly appreciates the role of the Francophone Parliamentary Union - the advisory body of the International Organization of the Francophone - through initiating and implementing inter-parliamentary cooperation programs, promoting the building of a rule-of-law state and human rights, spreading the use of French, strengthening friendly relations and solidarity among parliamentary institutions, with positive contributions to the increasingly strong development of parliamentary diplomacy activities, enhancing the position and voice of parliamentarians in regional and international issues.

In the context of the complicated and unpredictable developments in the world situation, especially geopolitical tensions and conflicts, and global challenges that have not yet found a common voice to effectively resolve, the political discussion by the Executive Committee of the Francophone Parliamentary Union on "the role of the Francophone Community in the face of changes in the world order" is very topical and important.

Considering the complex political situation in some member states, through the Action Plan to implement the Strategic Framework for the period 2023 - 2030 and other important agenda items, the National Assembly Chairman believes that the Francophone Parliamentary Union and the Francophone Community will increasingly affirm their important role, together with other multilateral institutions, with the foundation of international law and the United Nations Charter, creating a framework to promote cooperation and coordinated action in responding to common challenges globally.

In this context, the Can Tho Declaration on Francophone Cooperation on Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change Response, unanimously adopted by the delegates attending the Forum over the past two days, is an important contribution to Francophone cooperation. The National Assembly Chairman respectfully requested the APF Executive Committee to consider the submission of the Vietnam Sub-Committee, to adopt the Can Tho Declaration of the APF Executive Committee on this topic; to report to the APF General Assembly at the upcoming session; and to further promote specific cooperation activities on this topic within the Francophone Community.

The National Assembly Chairman believes that the Francophone Parliamentary Union, as well as other inter-parliamentary organizations, will be a place where parliamentarians continue to express their views, reflect the aspirations of the people, and work together to build and protect a world of solidarity and peace, promote multilateral cooperation, and peacefully resolve disputes on the basis of respect for international law.

Consolidate achievements, maintain solidarity

Speaking at the opening session, APF President Hilarion Etong expressed his gratitude for the thoughtful preparation and warm and respectful reception of the Vietnamese National Assembly for the delegates; highly appreciated the contributions of the Vietnam Sub-Committee at APF; and said that the organization of the APF Executive Committee Meeting in Vietnam shows a very strong message that the Francophone Community is not only limited to a narrow scope but also continues to reach further and higher to develop on a global scale.

The conference also sent a strong message that promoting the use of French is also an effort to protect other languages ​​and cultural diversity to enrich the cultures of the Francophone Community. This commitment, as well as a call for dialogue, strongly contributes to building a peaceful multilateral trend and promoting democracy in accordance with the characteristics of each country. Mr. Hilarion Etong hopes that the Conference will be a great success with rich and effective exchanges.

The APF Executive Board Meeting took place right after the Francophone Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change Response. The Forum adopted the Can Tho Declaration calling for international cooperation to address challenges related to food security and climate change. Expressing support for Vietnam's initiative to submit the Declaration to the APF Executive Board Meeting for adoption, the APF President said that this initiative would also mark an important milestone in the history of the organization.

Informing about some recent activities of APF, the APF President affirmed that the persistent commitment and friendship of the Vietnam Section have brought great values ​​to APF in many areas of cooperation such as: South-South cooperation; in political stability; in sharing good economic practices, technological innovation, climate change adaptation as well as encouraging inclusive and sustainable development.

According to APF President Hilarion Etong, 2025 is a challenging year with many commitments to be implemented. "In that context, we need to consolidate our achievements, affirm our values, maintain solidarity, especially the contribution of the Francophone Community, Asian parliaments need to be further encouraged when the Asia-Pacific region has a number of new members joining the organization," the APF President emphasized.

After the forum ended, the APF President proposed to further strengthen relations between Vietnam and African countries, promote economic, trade and technological cooperation, especially promoting cooperation in agriculture.

In his welcoming speech, Secretary of the Can Tho City Party Committee Do Thanh Binh stated: The Conference of the Executive Board of the Francophone Parliamentary Union held in Can Tho City is a good opportunity for the city to introduce the unique cultural features and the central role of the Mekong Delta to the Francophone Community. At the same time, this is also an opportunity for Can Tho to connect with new partners, to contribute a common voice in forums that countries and territories in the Francophone Community are always interested in, such as issues of sustainable agriculture, food security and response to climate change.

In recent times, the city has implemented many cooperation projects with partners in the Francophone Community, focusing on areas such as education - training, culture, investment, trade, health, environment (response to climate change) ... The city has also been an active member of the International Association of French-speaking Mayors (AIMF) since 2018. Many Francophone Community member countries are partners, customers, and major export markets of Can Tho, especially agricultural products such as rice, fruits, seafood and garment products ...

The Secretary of the Can Tho City Party Committee emphasized that the Conference of the Executive Board of the Francophone Parliamentary Union and the Francophone Parliamentary Cooperation Forum on sustainable agriculture, food security and climate change response will open up many new and effective cooperation directions in the Francophone Parliamentary Union; he believes that the "Can Tho Declaration" will be a meaningful document, referenced in cooperation and business production activities, not only in the Francophone Community but also expanded to other multilateral international cooperation activities.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper