Paris: Iman Chairman discusses need for greater dialogue between civilisations with Secretary General of the Francophonie

Ribal Al-Assad, Chairman of the Iman Foundation, had a meeting with His Excellency Abdou Diouf, Secretary General of the Francophonie, his Special Adviser Mr. Ousmane Paye and Mr. Hugo Sada, Delegate for Human Rights, Democracy and Peace, at the organisation's headquarters in Paris to discuss peace, democracy and dialogue between civilizations. Mr Diouf is a former President of the Republic of Senegal,

La Francophonie organises the institutional political relations and cooperation between the 77 member states and governments of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF): more than 890 million men and women who share the use of French language and universal values.

Commenting on the meeting, Ribal Al-Assad said:

"I was delighted and honoured to meet with Secretary General, Abdou Diouf and his advisers. We had an excellent discussion on the need for greater dialogue between civilisations and the importance of tackling extremism and promoting pluralism across the world.

"Mr. Diouf is an iconic statesman and the Francophonie is a shining light for the establishment and development of democracy and freedom, and bringing mutual understanding through dialogue around the world. We look forward to working with him and the Francophonie to promote these universal values."

OIF was founded in 1970 on the basis of the Treaty of Niamey (Niger). It leads political actions and multilateral cooperation to embody the active solidarity income populations its member states and governments. It is in accordance with the cultural and linguistic diversity and for the promotion of the French language, peace and sustainable development.

Objectives

The objectives of the Francophonie are recorded in its Charter adopted in 1997 at the Summit of Heads of State and Government in Hanoi (Vietnam) and revised by the Ministerial Conference in 2005 in Antananarivo (Madagascar):

the establishment and development of democracy;

prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, and support the rule of law and human rights;

intensification of dialogue between cultures and civilizations;

bringing people together by their mutual understanding;

strengthening their solidarity through multilateral cooperation to promote the growth of their economies;

the promotion of education and training.

Missions

The missions of the Francophonie are defined in a ten-year strategic framework adopted by the Summit of Heads of State and Government in 2004 in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) for the period 2005-2014:

Promote the French language and cultural and linguistic diversity;

Promote peace, democracy and human rights;

Support education, training, higher education and research;

Develop cooperation for sustainable development.