Chaired by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, the first meeting of the interdepartmental commission on preparations for the 17th Summit of Heads of State and Government of Francophone Countries was held in the Office of Government.
RA Foreign Affairs Minister Edward Nalbandyan advised that Armenia is going to host the Francophonie Summit in 2018 and that for a term of two years, our country will take over the chairmanship of La Francophonie, which covers 84 members, associated countries, observers and governments.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, our country is hosting such a high-level event for the first time. The Summit shall be attended by the heads of about five dozen States and governments, along with delegations from 31partner structures. More than a hundred delegations from all over the world will arrive in Armenia, with the total number of visitors to reach some 4,000 people.
The member States’ foreign ministers will come together three days before the two-day summit as preceded by the meeting of the Standing Council. The Summit will specifically focus on sustainable development, innovation, information technology, cultural diversity, youth affairs and others. The event provides an opportunity to organize an economic business forum with broad representation of companies and enterprises of Francophone countries. An exhibition of Armenian products and services will be held on the sidelines of the business forum, which will represent investment, trade, economic and tourism opportunities in Armenia.
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Highlighting the importance of the Summit, Karen Karapetyan stated in part, “It is an interesting event, an interesting platform that will help us enhance Armenia’s international image and make our country more recognizable.”
The Premier instructed the heads of relevant government departments to assign responsible officers to be included in the working group headed by the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.