Heads of state, government and foreign ministers from 89 countries, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Tunisian President Kais Saied, and heads of eight African countries participated in the two-day summit. It is the eighteenth annual meeting of the International Organization of La Francophonie, which aims to strengthen relations between countries that use French as their primary language.
The Francophone organization celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. Tunisia – the country hosting the summit – was one of the founding countries of the organization in the year 1970 along with Senegal, Nigeria and Cambodia, at a time when non-member countries of the organization are participating in the current summit such as the UAE, Egypt, Moldova and Serbia.
Officials and observers stated that this summit comes at a difficult international time, as it discusses:
- The fallout from the Ukraine war, specifically the food and energy shortages, amid an escalating cost of living crisis across Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
- The Secretary-General of the Rwandan organization, Louise Mushikiwabo, is expected to be re-elected for a new four-year term, and is the only candidate for the position.
- Debt relief for developing countries.
- migration crisis.
The group’s general secretary and former Rwandan foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, said the participants plan to make a final declaration on key political, social and economic issues after the summit ends on Sunday.
She explained that they will also focus on ways to promote the use of the French language throughout Europe and in international institutions with a decrease in its use compared to the English language.
She called on participants to support the group’s reforms aimed at enabling member states to better address challenges on issues such as security, climate change and gender equality.
Support for Tunisia
The French President announced to his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, that his country will grant a loan of 200 million euros (about 206 million dollars) to Tunisia, which is going through a deep economic crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine war.
The meeting of the two presidents came on the sidelines of the Francophone Summit to confirm that the Francophone Organization can play an “important role” on the international scale in resolving the current crises.
Soft powers
For his part, the expert specializing in international relations, Ayman Samir, believes that Tunisia’s hosting of this summit after it was postponed due to the Corona crisis is a great success for the Tunisian state and its president, Kais Saied, due to the intense international presence of world leaders and leaders at this summit, and even some countries that are not affiliated with it. the organization.
Samir said, in statements to “Sky News Arabia”, that “the organization is primarily a cultural gathering concerned with the spread of the French language and culture, which is now spoken by about 350 million French speakers in the world, but the major changes in the world at the political and economic levels will push the summit to pay more attention to politics and the economy.” Especially new and renewable energy.
He explained, “There is an endeavor for the Francophonie to be a bridge of communication, not only for French speakers, but for all countries of the world, especially since there are countries that are highly respected, such as France, Canada, and African countries, and this helps the organization to play an influential international role.”
However, the international relations expert believes that the organization needs to advance in a number of tracks:
- Supporting the budget of the organization and its general secretariat, because 100 million dollars is a weak budget and does not help it play international roles.
- There should be a real partnership with other organizations such as the European Union, the African Union or the League of Arab States, in order to achieve its international reach.
- Creating new entities linked to the Francophonie with a humanitarian agenda to give it a great presence and momentum on the international scene.
- Getting out of being confined to the cultural cloak in order to have a political presence and lines of communication between the countries affiliated under the banner of the organization.
#Support #Tunisia. #significance #holding #Francophone #Summit #Tunisia