Africa-Press – Seychelles. First participation of President Ramkalawan
The President of the Republic, Monsieur Wavel Ramkalawan, participated this weekend in the 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) which was held on the island of Djerba, in Tunisia.
This was his first summit of the OIF as head of state.
This summit included about forty heads of state and government, prime ministers as well as high-ranking leaders from the 88 member countries that make up the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie.
The summit was opened under the slogan “Communication in the context of diversity: the digital as a tributary of development and solidarity in the Francophone area”.
The President of the Tunisian Republic Kaïs Saïed opened the ceremony followed by the outgoing President of the OIF, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinya and the General Secretary of the OIF Mme Louise Mushikiwabo.
During his address, the President of Tunisia, Kaïs Saïed, emphasized the importance of this event for his country and estimated that the theme chosen this year for the summit, namely digital, represents “universal development based on justice” and freedom”.
The General Secretary of the OIF, Mme Louise Mushikiwabo, underlined the organization’s efforts towards a renewed Francophonie, where each country has its place, recalling its wish that the OIF become an even more relevant organization focused on the main priorities defined by the heads of state to promote the French language, democratic governance and cooperation in education, sustainable development and digital connectivity.
Mrs. Louise Mushikiwabo also wanted to praise the commitment of Tunisia in the Francophonie and the visionary role of one of its founding fathers, the former Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba, “convinced of the benefits of intercultural policy, adept of it bilingual education, committed to the progress of the status of women (..), which remain the pillars of francophone cooperation”.
The Secretary General then delivered the first results of the transformation process in which she engaged the OIF since her election as head of the organization: a tighter action, closer to the ground and therefore more relevant; increased legitimacy on the international scene; more effective management and governance processes.
Finally, projecting on the future, Mme Louise Mushikiwabo mentioned three major objectives on which the Francophonie should focus at the end of this Summit: action for young people and women around projects with high impact, the influence on the international scene and attractiveness, especially in economic and cultural terms.
The opening ceremony saw the handover of power between the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian, whose country hosted the previous Summit in 2018, and the Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed, now acting president of the Summit of the Francophonie.
President Ramkalawan has taken part in the sessions and round tables on topics related to the digital world, the Francophonie of the future, women and young people, as well as citizen defiance. He took the opportunity to advocate for small developing island states and the urgency of mobilizing against climate change.
The president finally attended the signing of the action plan for the French language in the Seychelles whose main priority is to create a francophone environment conducive to the use of French while taking into account the plurilingual context of the country. Through this signature, the OIF plans to send a team of French teachers to the Seychelles.
The action plan was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde and the Administrator of the OIF, Mr. Geoffroi Montpetit. The Secretary General of the Francophonie, Mme Louise Mushikiwabo was also present as a witness.
The delegation included the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism M. Sylvestre Radegonde, the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. and Minister-Counselor of the Seychelles Embassy in Paris Mr. Jacques Belle and the Honorary Consul of the Seychelles in Tunisia, Mr. Rached Trimèche.
It should be noted that the 18th Summit of the Francophonie was supposed to be held in Tunisia in November 2021, but it was postponed by one year, “to allow Tunisia to organize this important meeting in the best conditions”.
Since 1986, the Francophonie Summit has been held every two years at the level of heads of state and government of francophone countries affiliated to the organization.
The organization whose headquarters is in Paris, unites 88 countries, and its main missions are focused on the promotion of the French language, cultural and linguistic diversity, peace, democracy, human rights and support to the education.
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