The President of the Republic, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan participated this weekend in the 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) which was held on the island of Djerba, in Tunisia.

It was his very first OIF summit as head of state.

This Summit included some forty Heads of State and Government, Prime Ministers as well as high-ranking leaders from the 88 member countries that make up the International Organization of La Francophonie.

The summit opened under the slogan “Communication in the context of diversity: digital as dependent on development and solidarity in the French-speaking world”.

The President of the Republic of Tunisia Kaïs Saïed opened the ceremony followed by the outgoing President of the OIF the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinya and the Secretary General of the OIF Mrs. Louise Mushikiwabo.

During his speech, the President of Tunisia, Kaïs Saïed stressed the importance of this event for his country and considers that the theme chosen for this year’s summit, namely digital technology, represents “universal development based on justice and freedom”.

The Secretary General of the OIF Mrs. Louise Mushikiwabo underlined the efforts of the organization towards a renewed Francophonie, where each country has its place while recalling its wish that the OIF become an even more relevant organization refocused by the main priorities defined by Heads of State, namely the promotion of the French language, democratic governance and cooperation in education, sustainable development and digital connectivity.

Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo also paid tribute to Tunisia’s commitment to the Francophonie and the visionary role of one of its founding fathers, former Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, “convinced of the benefits of intercultural policy, a follower of bilingual education, committed to the progress of the status of women (..), who remain pillars of French-speaking cooperation”.

The Secretary General then delivered the first results of the transformation process in which she has engaged the OIF since her election at the head of the organization: tighter action, closer to the field and therefore more relevant; increased legitimacy on the international scene; more effective management and governance processes.

Finally, looking to the future, Ms. 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 high-impact projects, influence on the international scene and attractiveness, particularly in economic and cultural terms.

The opening ceremony saw the handover of power between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, whose country hosted the previous Summit in 2018, and Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed, now current President of the Francophonie Summit.

President Ramkalawan took the floor through his participation in sessions and round tables on topics relating to digital technology, the Francophonie of the future, women and young people as well as citizen mistrust. He took the opportunity to make the case for Small Island Developing States and the urgency of mobilizing against climate change.

Finally, the President attended the signing of the action plan for the French language in the Seychelles, the main priority of which is to create a French-speaking environment conducive to the use of French, taking into account the multilingual context of the country. It is planned through this signature the next dispatch by the OIF of 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 La Francophonie, Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo was also present as a witness.

The delegation included the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde, the Chargé d’Affaires ai and Minister-Counsellor of the Seychelles Embassy in Paris Mr. Jacques Belle and the Honorary Consul of Seychelles in Tunisia, Mr. Rached Trimèche.

It should be noted that the 18th Summit of La Francophonie was to be held in Tunisia in November 2021, but it has been postponed for a year, “in order to allow Tunisia to be able to organize this important meeting in the best conditions”.

Since 1986, the Francophonie Summit has met every two years at the level of heads of state and government of French-speaking countries affiliated to the organization.

The organization, headquartered in Paris, brings together 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 for education.

Source: Seychelles Nation