Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, together with his wife Anna Hakobyan, arrived in the Republic of Tunisia on a working visit to participate in the 18th Summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).

The official welcoming ceremony was held at the international airport of Djerba city. The Prime Minister and Mrs. Hakobyan were welcomed by Tunisian Defense Minister Imed Memmich.

During the 18th Summit of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) held on November 19-20, Armenia will transfer the presidency of the OIF Summit to Tunisia. Prime Minister Pashinyan will make a speech at the summit.

As part of the visit, the Prime Minister will also have bilateral meetings with the leaders of different countries.

A Francophonie town will operate in Djerba. The participating countries, OIF partners and agencies will have the opportunity to showcase the cultural diversity of their countries. exhibition-sale of handicrafts, presentation of tourist opportunities, works of art and culture, as well as national cuisine of the participating states.

On this platform, the Republic of Armenia will be presented with a pavilion entitled "Culture and Technology", the core of which is the rich Armenian carpet-making culture.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is participating in the 18th summit of the International Organization of Francophonie in Djerba, Republic of Tunisia. Armenia chaired the organization during the last four years.

At the beginning of the event, President of Tunisia Kais Saied and Secretary General of the International Organization of Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo welcomed the leaders of the countries, including Prime Minister Pashinyan. French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and leaders of dozens of other member states of the organization are participating in the summit.

Afterwards, a video recording ceremony of the participants of the summit took place, immediately after which the summit started.

In his speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan said:

"Your Excellency, Honorable President Kais Saied,
Dear colleagues, Heads of State and Government,
Heads of delegations,
Madam Secretary General of Francophonie,
Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my satisfaction for being here in Djerba, Tunisia in such an intimate and valued francophone environment.

I thank President Saied and the people of Tunisia for organizing such an important meeting and for showing warm hospitality.

By holding this Francophonie summit for the first time in Tunisia, we pay our respects to one of the founding fathers of Francophonie, President Habib Bourguiba.

Your Excellencies, dear colleagues,
Madam Secretary General of Francophonie,

Four years have passed since the last Francophonie summit held in Yerevan, an exceptionally long period of the current presidency, which, however, the Republic of Armenia has fulfilled with honor, unconditionally implementing all the commitments undertaken.

I would like to thank the General Secretary of La Francophonie, dear Louise Mushikiwabo, for managing our organization so effectively during this process, as well as for the quality relationships that have been established. I am glad that we were able to work together in complete harmony.

I would also like to welcome her efforts to shape a new image of La Francophonie and make the OIF a firmly future-oriented organization with ambitions commensurate with the challenges facing the world.

The world was subjected to major upheavals in recent years. The horrible Covid-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, the resumption of wars and their consequences on global food and energy supplies have left their deep mark on the formation of a new international environment.

At the same time, the listed challenges have come to reveal the exactness and relevance of the approaches and values that underpin our responses.

In the face of pandemics and urgent climate challenges, we must continue to promote enhanced cooperation between countries, emphasizing the principle of solidarity. The latter should assume that the proposed programs and initiatives can be beneficial to the most vulnerable countries, as well as the population in vulnerable situations.

Faced with the activation of hate speech and intolerance, today we are once again convinced of the relevance of the slogan of the Yerevan Summit "Live Together" and the need to promote respect for human rights, equality and cultural diversity.

Finally, facing the multiplication of crises and conflicts, we welcome the Francophonie's commitment to multilateralism, which guarantees the existence of an international system based on law and respect for the sovereignty of states.

In the recent period, unfortunately, we have to record that the fundamental principles of the UN Charter have been violated, in particular, the principle of not using force against the territorial integrity of any country, on which the collective security of all of us is based, thus gradually imposing the Law of the Strongest.

The aggression carried out by Azerbaijan, to which the Republic of Armenia fell victim on September 13-14, is a vivid manifestation of this reality.

Azerbaijan's totally unjustified and unprovoked aggression led to the occupation of a part of Armenia's territories, causing death and suffering to the civilian population and causing considerable destruction.

The established ceasefire, however, has not yet put an end to this country's ambitions for other territories of Armenia.

Faced with new threats, we expect the international community to make a fair assessment of the situation our country has appeared in today, condemning the occupation of some parts of the Armenian territory and demanding the return of Azerbaijani forces to their initial positions.

Armenia, for its part, is firmly committed to contributing to the process of achieving a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, as well as ensuring the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Your Excellencies, dear colleagues,
Madam Secretary General of Francophonie,

Armenia, as the current Chair of the Francophonie Summit, has consistently continued its activities within the framework of Yerevan’s Francophone call to live together, initiating the resolution on living together during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was adopted in November 2020 by the Francophonie Ministerial Conference.

Our country has carefully pursued the activities of La Francophonie in the digital and economic domains and the significant progress achieved under the leadership of the Secretary General. In this regard, we expressed our gratitude to the OIF for its efforts to develop economic cooperation between different regions of the French-speaking world.

I would also like to emphasize the importance of the declaration to be adopted on the French language, which will become a significant document on the French language, recording its role in uniting all Francophone countries.

Finally, Armenia has accompanied and supported the Secretary-General in the implementation of these reforms, and it’s good that our organization is now working towards the implementation of the road map based on the main priorities of Francophonie and implemented in a reaffirmed and new strategic framework.

Armenia is convinced that this declared universal aspiration will allow to ensure the recognition of Francophonie at the international level, as well as the spread of its values and ideas, to which my country continues to remain deeply committed.

Your Excellencies, dear colleagues,
Madam Secretary General of Francophonie,

Concluding my speech, I would like to once again express my gratitude to the Secretary General for her willingness and involvement.

Now it’s time for me to hand over to you, Mr. President, the presidency of the Francophonie Summit, wishing you every success.

Thanks for attention".

After the speech, the presidency of the International Organization of Francophonie was transferred from Armenia to Tunisia, with a symbolic handshake ceremony between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Tunisia.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting with the President of the European Council Charles Michel, within the framework of the 18th summit of the International Organization of Francophonie, which is being held in Djerba, Tunisia.

The interlocutors referred to the to the results of the quadrilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of the European Council, as well as the Presidents of France and Azerbaijan held in Prague in October this year. The importance of the implementation of the agreements reached by the Prague Statement and the implementation of steps aimed at strengthening peace and stability in the region were emphasized.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need to eliminate the consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression, to immediately withdraw the Azerbaijani units from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.

Nikol Pashinyan and Charles Michel also exchanged ideas on the development of further cooperation between Armenia and the European Union.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau within the framework of the 18th summit of the International Organization of Francophonie, which is being held in Djerba, Tunisia.

The interlocutors discussed various issues related to the further development of Armenian-Canadian relations. In this regard, Nikol Pashinyan and Justin Trudeau highlighted the Canadian government's decision to open an embassy of Canada in Armenia. The parties expressed confidence that the activity of the embassy in Yerevan will give new impetus to the expansion and deepening of bilateral political and economic relations.

Prime Minister Pashinyan attached importance to the continuous support of the Canadian side to the democratic reform agenda of Armenia.

Justin Trudeau expressed the readiness and interest of the government led by him to contribute to the effective implementation of institutional reforms in our country and the development of bilateral cooperation.

Issues related to the expansion of Canadian investments in Armenia were also discussed at the meeting.

Prime Minister Pashinyan presented to Justin Trudeau the consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia and the positions of the Armenian side in the direction of their elimination. The sides exchanged thoughts on the Nagorno Karabakh issue, the processes taking place in the South Caucasus, as well as various issues of mutual interest.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, within the framework of the 18th summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie, held in Djerba, Tunisia, had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the expansion of relations between Armenia and Montenegro.

The sides pointed out the high level of political dialogue, which is a good basis for promoting economic cooperation.

The parties exchanged ideas on the prospects for the development of trade and economic ties. Initiating joint projects in tourism, air communication, as well as in various branches of mutual interest was assessed promising. In this regard, an agreement was reached to continue active contacts.

The Prime Ministers of Armenia and Montenegro also emphasized that there are rich cultural ties between the two countries and peoples, which should be deepened and strengthened.

The sides attaches importance to conducting mutual high level visits.

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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, within the framework of the 18th summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie, held in Djerba, Tunisia, had a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The interlocutors highly appreciated Armenia's presidency of the International Organization of La Francophonie and referred to the discussions taking place within the framework of the summit held in Tunisia. Issues related to the organization's priorities and future plans were discussed.

Nikol Pashinyan and Emmanuel Macron also exchanged ideas on the results of the quadrilateral meeting of the leaders of Armenia, France, Azerbaijan and the President of the European Council held in Prague in October this year. Implementation of steps aimed at strengthening stability and security in the South Caucasus was emphasized.

Prime Minister Pashinyan stressed the need to eliminate the consequences of Azerbaijani aggression, and of immediate withdrawal of Azerbaijani units from the sovereign territory of Armenia.

The leaders of Armenia and France also discussed issues related to the further development of the Armenian-French bilateral cooperation.