Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, March 19 (VNA) -- Viet Nam has been judged by senior Francophone officials as making "important" and "special" contributions to the Francophone community's development.

This has included preserving the diversity of cultures and languages within the community while expanding the use of French among the young.

Director of the Ha Noi-based International Agency of Francophone, AIF, - Asia-Pacific S. Plumat told Lao Dong, Labour, newspaper that Viet Nam has successfully implemented a number of cooperation projects with member countries.

These included a tripartite project for agricultural development in Senegal funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, whereby, Viet Nam provided Senegalese with farming skills. The project was judged by the FAO - a model for economic development in the third world.

The success of the Ha Noi seventh Francophone Summit in Nov. 1997 had entered Ha Noi into the development history of Francophone and confirmed the community's international position, said Mr.Plumat.

Viet Nam was among the eight member countries given high priority for cooperation projects as it had managed to issue attractive policies, build a standard technical infrastructure and had a potential human resource.

In training and education, AIF had funded a number of projects in Viet Nam even before opening its Ha Noi office in 1993. These included cooperation in building the legal system and providing courses in agricultural expertise for young farmers in poverty-ridden central Nghe An province.

The AIF was working with the French Language Cultural House in Ho Chi Minh City on a project to open French courses in medicine for young medical doctors and students.

Efforts had been made to support Viet Nam's French-language publications, said the AIF chief.

Here, Viet Nam had also actively cooperated with the AUF, says its Asian-Pacific Bureau Director, Daniel Weissberg.

He told Ha Noi Moi, New Ha Noi, daily that so far 111 bilingual classes of general education with a total enrolment of 19,000 had been opened in 18 cities and provinces

In the 1999-2000 school year, 76 percent of graduates from the bi-lingual secondary schools continued their university education in different Francophone member countries.

A cooperation programme in Special French at universities had been deployed on 34 faculties in 23 universities in Viet Nam, enrolling more than 4,500 students in the 2000-2001 academic year.

In an effort to ensure a good future for French-language students, an employment promotion office has been opened in Viet Nam, helping so far to provide jobs for 61 graduates.

The office had also provided 99 scholarships a year since 1998. Of the 46 Master degree holders, 23 have continued their doctorate studies in France with help from the office.

Viet Nam has over the past decades always celebrated the Francophone Day, March 20, as a major festival --VNA