The Organisation of the Francophonie promotes the French language and cultural diversity, as well as peace and democracy.
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Cambodian capital Phnom Penh will host the 2026 Francophonie Summit on Sunday and Monday. Ignazio Cassis is representing Switzerland.
The summit, organised by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), is the main political gathering of the French-speaking world. The OIF currently includes 90 countries, including 53 members, five associate members and 32 observers.
Every two years, government leaders from these states meet to set out the broad areas of action for the years ahead, particularly in the fields of diplomacy, culture and education.
In the run-up to the 2026 summit, the Francophonie Ministerial Conference is bringing together ministers responsible for foreign or Francophonie affairs from member states on Saturday. Its main task is to prepare the agenda items to be submitted to the heads of state and government over the following two days.
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Switzerland toasts 30 years of liberty, diversity, francophonie
Swiss expertise in the spotlight
At this 20th summit, “Switzerland will highlight its experience of good offices and mediation to prevent conflicts, as well as the role of International Geneva in digital governance, ahead of the 2027 AI Summit in Geneva”, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday, upon arrival in Phnom Penh.
“Against an international backdrop marked by numerous crises, Mr Cassis will highlight the role of [the OIF] in preventing conflicts and promoting political dialogue,” the foreign ministry wrote in a press release earlier this week. The ministry added that Switzerland was set to enter into a new partnership with the OIF to strengthen cooperation in peacebuilding.
Fourth language in the world
The summit in Cambodia will appoint the person who will lead the OIF for the next four years. Four candidates are in the running: the outgoing Secretary-General, Louise Mushikiwabo from Rwanda; Juliana Amato Lumumba from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (a daughter of Patrice Lumumba); Coumba Bâ from Mauritania; and Dacian Ciolos from Romania.
Based in Paris, the OIF’s mission is to promote the French language, as well as to foster peace, democracy, human rights, education and economic cooperation. According to its latest report, published in March 2026, French is now spoken by 396 million speakers across five continents – around 5% of the world’s population. It is thus the fourth most widely spoken language in the world behind English, Mandarin and Spanish.
For Cambodia, a full member of the OIF since 1993, the event has special significance. It will be the second Francophonie Summit to be held in Asia, nearly 30 years after Hanoi, Vietnam, in 1997. The host country thus wants to build on the visibility to strengthen its position within Francophone networks.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Cassis will meet with Cambodian authorities. Cambodia is a priority country for Swiss development cooperation. Switzerland has maintained a presence in Phnom Penh since 2012, with a cooperation office run by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and a consular agency.
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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
