Roundup: Francophonie Summit closes with calls for woman's right, anti-terrorism

The 16th Francophonie (French-speaking countries) Summit closed Sunday in Antananarivo, Madagascar, with a joint declaration adopted by the 80 members of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).

Embodying this summit's theme "Shared growth and responsible development," 20 heads of state and government addressed issues including prevention of radicalization, gender equality, economic growth and environment. A total of 13 resolutions were adopted as well.

The heads of state and government have decided to set up a permanent entity dedicated to the promotion of gender equality, rights and autonomisation of women and girls.

The entity aims to assure the decision-making of women in public institutions; to advocate for ending violence against females, female genital mutilation, forced and early marriages; and to guide women and girls into professional and social life.

They reaffirmed that participation of women on an equal footing in the process of prevention, mediation and decision making is an objective and an essential means of preventing and resolving conflicts.

They also stressed their engagement to "develop efficient responses in the fields of development, education and employment, especially for women and the youth, in order to facilitate their social, economic and political integration."

During the opening ceremony on Saturday, several heads of state and government talked about the danger of terrorism across the Francophonic world. French President Francois Hollande called on the participants to reinforce cooperation in fight against Islamist radicalization.

In the final declaration, the heads of state and government of La Francophonie are "determined to work in a concrete and concerted way to reinforce cooperation in prevention of radicalization and fight against terrorism."

The declaration also includes reinforcement of legal and judicial cooperation across the Francophonic world to fight terrorism.

As for economic growth, the declaration stressed that "a global approach is necessary to foster a sustainable economic environment which allows everyone to live in conditions of dignity and equality".

The heads of states and governments are "determined to assure an effective application of the Economic Strategy" adopted at the 15th Francophonie Summit in Dakar.

They also welcomed investments that will improve participation and intergration of SME from developing countries into global markets.

As a priority strategy adopted at the summit of Kinshasa in 2012, tripartite cooperation is again mentioned in the final declaration.

Describing the low level of education as a source of poverty, the heads of state and government decided to increase the number of qualified teachers to make fundamental learning accessible for all, especially for young girls.

A large part of the declaration was reserved for sustainable development and energy for all.

The heads of state and government planned to expand cooperation within the OIF in order to, as required in the Paris Agreement, reinforce the capacity of each member country and facilitate technological transfer.

The OIF also accepted New Caledonia as associate member, and three new observer members, Republic of Korea, Argentina, Canada's Ontario. However, the Saudi Arabia is not accepted as an observer by the OIF, due to its failure of submitting a "complete application."

The OIF now has 58 members, including 4 associate members and 26 observers.

The 17th Francophonie Summit will be hold in Armenia in 2018, and Tunisia will hold the 18th Francophonie Summit in 2020 when the OIF will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Endit