Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie A/RES/73/290 27. Further welcomes the holding of the International Conference on Access to Quality Medicines and Other Medical Products in French-speaking Africa, held in Geneva on 22 May 2018, at the initiative of the Secretary-General of la Francophonie and the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and with the support of the Director General of the World Health Organization and the collaboration of the Fondation Chirac; 28. Welcomes the collaboration developed between the International Organization of la Francophonie and the World Trade Organization for strengthening the contribution of the French-speaking delegations to the ministerial conferences of the World Trade Organization; 29. Notes with satisfaction the development of collaboration between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie in electoral monitoring and assistance, and encourages the strengthening of cooperation between the two organizations in that area; 30. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for including the International Organization of la Francophonie in the periodic meetings he holds with heads of regional organizations, and invites him to continue to do so, taking into account the role played by the International Organization of la Francophonie in conflict prevention and support for democracy and the rule of law, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and sustainable development, and in that regard encourages cooperation in the field between the United Nations, the International Organization of la Francophonie and regional organizations aimed at promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes, including through mediation; 31. Invites the Secretary-General to continue to involve the International Organization of la Francophonie, taking into account its expertise as well as the adoption at the twenty-second session of the Ministerial Conference of la Francophonie, held in Bucharest on 26 September 2006, of the Vademecum on the Use of French in International Organizations, in the efforts to promote multilingualism, a core value of the United Nations, bearing in mind the objective of eliminating disparities between the use of English and the use of other official languages within the Organization, including the activities linked to public relations and information, documentation, language services and conference services, human resources management and staff training, as well as the a ctivities affected by those disparities in field offices and peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations, and takes note in this regard of the concrete contribution made by the International Organization of la Francophonie to the implementation of an integra ted policy on multilingualism at the United Nations by providing high-level expertise; 32. Reaffirms the need to respect the equality of the two working languages of the Secretariat, also reaffirms the use of additional working languages in specific duty stations as mandated, and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to ensure that vacancy announcements specify the need for either of the working languages of the Secretariat unless the functions of the post require a specific working language; 33. Considers that the interaction of the United Nations with the local population in the field is essential and that language skills constitute an important element of the selection and training processes, and therefore affirms that a good command of the official language or languages spoken in the country of residence should be taken into account as an important asset during those processes; 34. Notes the commitment of States members of the International Organization of la Francophonie to improve global governance so as to promote a balanced 19-06370 7/11