Moscow (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister andForeign Minister Pham Binh Minh on October 11 met with several other attendeeson the sidelines of the ongoing 17th Francophonie Summit in Yerevan,Armenia.

Minh had a meeting with Foreign Minister of Mali CamaraKamissa, where the two agreed to increase exchanges of high-level visits toboost the two countries’ relations. He asked Mali to provide Vietnamese goodswith broader market access and step up bilateral ties in telecommunications andagriculture, areas where Vietnam has successfully invested in African nations.

Kamissa noted his proposal, saying Mali pursues a foreignpolicy of diversifying relations, particularly with countries from AsiaPacific.

The Vietnamese Deputy PM later met with Andorra FM MariaUbach Font to discuss ways to deepen mutual understanding between the twonations. They agreed to bolster exchanges of visits and enhancepeople-to-people exchange and tourism. Font added that Andorra stands ready toshare experience with Vietnam in developing tourism and services.

In a meeting with Lebanese Minister of Tourism AvedisGuidania, Minh lauded the relations between Vietnam and Lebanon in recent years.He said there is plenty of room for the two sides to expand cooperation andsuggested Lebanon help Vietnam send guest workers to the country.

The two officials later agreed to foster bilateral tieswith a focus on trade, import-export, tourism and investment. They willencourage enterprises from each side to invest in the other and support eachother at multilateral forums.

Minh also had a meeting with Haiti FM Bocchit Edmond,during which the two sides expressed delight at the development of bilateralrelations in economics, trade and investment. Edmond affirmed Haiti attachesimportance to ties with Vietnam and highly appreciated Viettel’s work in Haitiand what the Vietnamese telecom provider has contributed to the local society.He added that Haiti hopes to welcome more Vietnamese firms.

Speaking with Director General of the United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay, Minhhailed the cooperation and assistance UNESCO has provided to Vietnam in recentyears and expected that Azoulay will continue supporting Vietnam.

Minh took the occasion of the meetings to propose thesecountries support Vietnam’s candidacy as a non-permanent member of the UNSecurity Council in the 2020 – 2021 tenure, the only candidate fromAsia-Pacific.

The 17th Francophonie Summit opened in Armenia on October11, bringing together nearly 3,500 delegates from 84 member countries andterritories of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) and itsobservers.

This year’s event focused on the theme “Living togetherin solidarity, sharing humanist values, and respect for diversity: Sources ofpeace and prosperity in the Francophone space”. It delivers a platform for OIFmembers to cement cooperation in response to common challenges, includingterrorism, poverty, disease, water resource and food security, pollution,climate change, and international migration.

Established in 1970, the OIF’s mission is to engage its84 member states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which togetherrepresent more than a third of UN member states and account for a population ofover 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers.

The IOF organises multilateral cooperation political activities and actionsthat benefit French-speaking populations.

Vietnam has been an OIF member since 1979. It hosted thesummit’s 7th edition in Hanoi in 1997 which adopted the Charter ofLa Francophonie and elected the first OIF Secretary General. –VNA