French President Macron and Canadian PM Trudeau Among 38 Heads of State in Yerevan
The leaders of 38 states, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, delegations from more than 70 countries, and 3,500 guests from French speaking states have arrived in the capital of Armenia for the 17th summit of French-speaking countries – La Francophonie. The summit is October 11-12. It is the largest international forum Armenia has ever hosted.
Heads of state visited the Memorial of the Armenian Genocide, which is close to the site where the summit is being held.
Armenia and Moldova are the only post-Soviet states that have the status of full members in The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, which organizes the annual summit. The three Baltic states, Ukraine and Georgia are observers in the organization. Although Armenia itself does not have a significant French-speaking population, there are approximately half a million members of the Armenian diaspora living in France.
A Gala concert will follow the opening of the Summit this evening in Yerevan’s Republic Square where stars of the French speaking world will perform for the guests and residents of Armenia. The French musical icon of Armenian descent Charles Aznavour was scheduled to perform at the concert before his passing last week at the age of 94. The opening concert was dedicated to his memory.