More than 3,500 representatives from 84 member states and organizations have arrived in Armenia’s capital of Yerevan to kick off the XVII Summit of la Francophonie.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the 40 state leaders present at the international event.
More than 488 local and international reporters have been accredited to cover the various events.
The Gala Concert, a special event of the Francophonie Summit, will feature Celine Dion, Zaz, and Angélique Kidjo among other artists at Yerevan’s Republic Square on October 11.
The last portion of the concert will be dedicated to the legendary French-Armenian singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour.
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Organization Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) was founded on 1970. The organization aims to strengthen and promote the French language and French universal values.
OIF consists of 84 member states, with a total population of 890 million.
Armenia became a full member of OIF at the Summit of la Francophonie in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in October 2012. Armenia is the 54th member of the organization.
On November 27, 2016, at the summit in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Armenia was designated as the host country for the next Summit of la Francophonie in 2018.
