Armenia hosted on Thursday a summit of the Paris-based Francophonie organization attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leaders of three dozen other French-speaking nations.
The two-day summit, also attended by government delegations from over 40 other states, is the largest international forum ever held in Yerevan. It highlights what the current and former Armenian governments have described as Armenia’s “privileged relationship” with France.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian opened the gathering with a speech delivered in French.
“I and all Armenian people are happy to host in Yerevan the 17th summit of the heads of Francophone states and governments,” he said. “Welcome to Armenia!”
“Armenia is a young member of the Francophonie … and yet there is no need to prove its commitment to promoting cultural and linguistic diversity and fundamental values of the French language and the Francophonie,” he said. Those values include respect for democracy and human rights, added the Armenian leader.
