Francophonie meet winds up

The association of parliaments in Francophone countries, Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF), strives to bring about the economic development of member countries’, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, the Speaker of the Burkina Faso Parliament, has stressed.Kabore was presiding over the closing session of African Parliamentary Forum of Speakers from the Francophone countries at Parliament Buildings yesterday.He further highlighted that their objective was not to allow another form of modern colonialism, but rather to see that their solidarity, through the French language, spurs development by complementing other continental efforts. “We have a community of a language which unites us. And this is a language that we conserve and it must be useful. It must equally spur the development and solidarity between francophone countries,” Kabore noted.He added that as a consultative assembly, on a global scale, they make reports on themes such as environment and development, examine women issues and rights of the child, as well as the various political situations in Africa.Representatives of over 10 African countries attended the conference whose theme was: “The Role of African Parliaments in Promoting Good Governance.” They observed that the continent still has gaps in good governance and underscored that Parliaments must play a more active role, as legislators and representatives of the population.The Kigali conference also underlined the importance of dialogue among politicians as well as the role of parliamentary diplomacy is resolving bad governance issues in Africa. Globally, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) which was created in 1970 represents one of the biggest linguistic zones. According to the IOF, its actions respect cultural and linguistic diversity and serve to promote the French language, peace and sustainable development.

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Francophonie meet winds up