Vietnam, France enhance cultural cooperation

Scene at the 21st meeting of the Vietnam-France Joint Committee on cooperation programmes with the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF)(Photo:VNA)

Vietnam and France have agreed to further expand cultural cooperation in all aspects, including new forms, to encourage more and more Vietnamese youths to study French culture and language.

A cooperation agreement was signed between the two nations at the 21st meeting of the Vietnam-France Joint Committee on cooperation programmes with the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) in Ho Chi Minh City on June 22.

This was part of activities held to celebrate the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and five years since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between the two nations.

Along the fruitful development of politic ties, cultural exchanges between Vietnam and France have contributed to strengthening mutual understanding and solidarity between their people.

Established in 1982 under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDECAF is a special partner of France in culture cooperation, focusing on teaching French language, screening French films and organizing art performance programmes.

In recent years, IDECAF has played an important role in promoting people-to-people exchanges, becoming one of the major centres for Vietnam-France cultural exchange in the South of Vietnam.

According to French Ambassador to Vietnam Bertrand Lortholary, after 11 years of hiatus, the Vietnam-France Joint Committee on cooperation programmes with IDECAF has been resumed, demonstrating the diversity of cooperation policy and form between the two sides, and affirming the shared purpose to promote French language.

Cooperation with IDECAF in the future will be a foundation for IDECAF and the Institute of France in Vietnam (IFV) to continue operating, creating strong appeal to the public who love the French culture, he said.

France pledges to fostering cultural cooperation through IDECAF, including installing more audiovisual devices in IDECAF’s theatre auditorium, organising a renovation festival in October 2018 and supporting IDECAF in recruiting French teachers and trainees.

Presenting a report at the meeting, IDECAF Director Nguyen Ngoc Lan said the teaching of French at the institute achieved positive results in 2007-2017. IDECAF’s library becomes a multimedia library and a documentation centre on France.

From 2009, IDECAF has cooperated with many partners to organise film festivals, concerts and exhibitions, she added.

VNA