ArmenPress, Armenia Oct 12 2018 Armenia will bring forward a number of initiatives during its chairmanship over Francophonie summit – FM Mnatsakanyan YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. During the chairmanship over Francophonie summit Armenia will bring forward a number of initiatives, ARMENPRESS reports Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said about this during the press conference summarizing the 17th Francophonie summit. “In line with the economic strategy of Francophonie we will organize an economic forum in Armenia over the cooperation between Francophonie and regional integration processes”, Mnatsakanyan said. The Armenian FM emphasized that it’s a great honor for Armenia for serving as a platform for a key international gathering. “The Armenian people are faithful towards the traditions of hospitability of their ancestors. We welcomed with open-arms representatives of countries from different continents. The Armenian youth participated in the events with great enthusiasm and love towards the French language and the Francophone culture. I would also like to recall the moments of grief that we lived as a result of the demise of Charles Aznavour”, FM Mnatsakanyan said, thanking French President Macron for involving Armenia in the ceremony of national tribute to Charles Aznavour on October 5. The International Organisation of La Francophonie represents one of the biggest linguistic zones in the world. Its members share more than just a common language. They also share the humanist values promoted by the French language. The French language and its humanist values represent the two cornerstones on which the International Organisation of La Francophonie is based. The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970. Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers. IOF organizes political activities and actions of multilateral cooperation that benefit French-speaking populations. Its actions respect cultural and linguistic diversity and serve to promote the French language, peace and sustainable development. IOF has concluded 33 cooperation agreements with international and regional organisations and has established permanent dialogue between the major international linguistic zones (the English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arab-speaking zones). The IOF has its head office in Paris as well as four permanent representations in Addis Ababa (at the African Union and at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa), in Brussels (at the European Union), in New York and in Geneva (at the UN). It has three regional offices (West Africa; Central Africa and Indian Ocean; Asia-Pacific) located respectively in Lomé (Togo), Libreville (Gabon) and Hanoi (Vietnam) and two regional antennas in Bucharest (Romania) and in Port-au-Prince (Haiti). Alongside the IOF, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie and the four direct operators are responsible for implementing the programs decided at the Summits. The four direct operators are: the Academic Agency of La Francophonie, TV5Monde, the International Association of Francophone Mayors and The Senghor University of Alexandria. 61 Member States and Governments: Albania, Principality of Andorra, Armenia, Kingdom of Belgium, French Community of Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Canada-New-Brunswick, Canada-Quebec, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco, Niger, New-Caledonia, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Säo Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Vietnam, UAE, Kosovo, Serbia. 29 Observers: Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada-Ontario, South Korea, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Ukraine,Uruguay, Gambia, Ireland, Louisiana (USA), Malta. Armenia has assumed the chairmanship over the organization’s summit for the period until 2020. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan