Abdou Diouf re-elected head of La Francophonie

Abdou Diouf was re-elected secretary general of La Francophonie, the organization of French-speaking countries, on Friday in the second and last day of a summit of the organization hosted by Romanian capital Bucharest. It is the first palpable result of the event, organized for the first time in a European country other than France.

A former Senegal President from 1981-2000, Diouf was the sole candidate for the seat. He was first elected as secretary general of the organization in 2002, two years after losing elections in his home country, which prompted him to move to France.

A plenary session of leaders from French-speaking countries is also due today. On Thursday, the only visible results of talks and speeches from participants were a call for a stronger role of French-speaking countries in the European Union and announced plans for a Francophone university in Bucharest.

HotNews.ro, Sep 29, 2006