Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomes XVII La Francophonie summit delegates

The XVII summit of La Francophonie kicked off today in Yerevan, Armenia.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse Anna Hakobyan, together with La Francophonie Secretary General Michaelle Jean and her spouse, welcomed the delegations at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex ahead of the official opening ceremony of the summit.

A group photo ceremony took place afterwards.

Nikol Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron held a ceremonial unveiling of a souvenir sheet on “World Renowned Armenians: Charles Aznavour”. The souvenir sheet stamp was ceremonially cancelled by the Armenian PM and the French president.

Delegations from 84 countries and leaders of 38 countries have arrived to take part in the summit.

The summit will elect a Secretary General of the organization. Michaelle Jean seeks re-election. Rwanda’s FM Louise Mushikiwabo is also seeking the position.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie represents one of the biggest linguistic zones in the world. Its members share more than just a common language. They also share the humanist values promoted by the French language. The French language and its humanist values represent the two cornerstones on which the International Organisation of La Francophonie is based.

The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970. Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers.