17th Summit of Francophonie kicks off in Yerevan

ArmInfo.On October 11, the 17th summit of the heads of the countries of Francophone begins its work in Yerevan. It will be the key event of the Francophonie Week,  which started in Armenia on October 7.

The summit will be attended by delegations from 83 countries that are  members of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF),  as well as partners and observers of the structure. The event will be  attended by 26 heads of state, 2 vice-presidents, 9 prime ministers,  3 vice-premiers. In particular, the participation of French President  Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prince of  Monaco Albert II is expected.

During the plenary session, the official ceremony of handing over the chairmanship to the OIF from Madagascar to Armenia will be held, Armenia will chair the  organization until 2020. Closed meetings will also be held at which  full members of the OIF will consider issues on the international  agenda. A presentation will be made by the Secretary General of the  OIF, Michaelle Jean, the place and date of the next summit will be  approved, and the current meeting will be summed up, which will be  announced at the final press conference.

The culmination of Francophonie Week will be a gala concert, which  will be held on October 11 at the Republic Square in the center of  Yerevan. World-famous singer ZAZ, as well as jazz singer Melody  Gardot, Angelique Kidjo and Folamour will take part in it. The final  part of the gala concert will be dedicated to the memory of the great  French chansonnier Charles Aznavour, who died in France on the night  of October 1.

Today, on October 11, from early morning, most of the central streets  of the capital of Armenia are completely closed. By the decision of  the government, the instead of October 11 and 12, Saturdays October  27 and November 3 will be declared working in Armenia. The  postponement of working days is due to the need for an efficient  organization of the transport movement in Yerevan during the 17th  summit of the International Organization of Francophonie. The head of  the Police of the Republic of Armenia Valery Osipyan, at a government  meeting yesterday, presented information on the streets of the  capital which will be closed to traffic during the Francophonie  summit. The Prime Minister apologized to his compatriots for the  inconvenience caused and called on them to travel by car as rarely as  possible and use the metro instead.

"It was repeatedly noted that this is an unprecedentedly large-scale event in the history of our Third Republic, and it is of particular importance. We must hold this  event at a high level," said the Prime Minister. Nikol Pashinyan also  expressed confidence that the citizens of Armenia will welcome and,  if necessary, help the thousands of guests who came from different  countries of the world. The head of government instructed the heads  of relevant departments to take the necessary steps to ensure a high  level of security in the capital. Pashinyan stressed that the  Republic of Armenia is fully prepared for the 17th Summit of OIF.