After two consecutive postponements, the 18th Francophonie summit opened in Djerba
Opening of the eighteenth Francophonie summit in Djerba, Tunisia, on November 19, 2022. via REUTERS - TUNISIAN PRESIDENCY
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After two consecutive postponements, the first in 2020, due to the health crisis and the second in 2021, against the backdrop of demonstrations in Tunisia against the hardening of power by President Kaïs Saied, the 18th summit of La Francophonie opened this Saturday .
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With our special correspondent in Djerba,
Clémentine Pawlotsky
This is the first time since 2018 that the Heads of State and Government of the Francophonie have met and Armenia has been waiting for two years to be able to pass the torch to Tunisia.
It is now done.
Three personalities spoke this morning: Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the secretary general of the organization, the Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo.
They were all relieved that this summit could finally be held and, in this regard, the Tunisian Head of State did not fail to allude, without quoting them, to these countries (such as Canada) which had shown reluctant about the choice of Tunisia.
►Also read: Emmanuel Macron in diplomatic operation at the summit of La Francophonie in Djerba
“
As everyone knows, it was a question, at difficult times and for multiple reasons, of organizing this summit remotely, or even, for some, of canceling it to organize it elsewhere.
But our unwavering will, with the support of our friends, ended up winning.
Here we are gathered today in Tunis and Djerba
”, declared the Tunisian president.
Crises and conflicts in the French-speaking world
Heads of State and Government are now working on various texts.
In particular, they must adopt a resolution on crises and conflicts in the French-speaking world.
Among the subjects that most concern the Member States of La Francophonie, there is the war in Ukraine, the crisis in Lebanon or in Haiti, but also the security situation in the Sahel as well as the recent resurgence of tensions between the DRC and Rwanda.
As of Friday, during the Ministerial Conference, the issue of tensions between the DRC and Rwanda was on the table.
This subject comes up a lot in this Francophonie Summit.
According to our information, it should also be the subject of a meeting, behind closed doors, in the presence of the Secretary General of the OIF, Louise Mushikiwabo.
The objective being, for the Francophonie, to achieve the emergence of a common position on a file which remains extremely thorny.
The expectations of the DRC
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi will not be present at the summit.
He is represented by Congolese Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde.
According to the report of the Council of Ministers of Friday, November 18, by participating in this summit, the DRC intends to denounce, through various bilateral and multilateral exchanges, "
the aggression of which it is the object on the part of its neighbor Rwanda
".
In Kinshasa, we are also expecting a reaction from the OIF on this issue, an expectation that is also present even in the opposition.
Martin Fayulu tries to put the pressure on: "
If the OIF summit does not condemn the aggression of the DRC by Rwanda through its M23 auxiliaries, this international institution loses its raison d'être and the DRC will not have no more interest in remaining a member
,” he said.
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