Francophonie Summit opens in Tunisia
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - The 18th Summit of the Francophonie opened on Saturday in Djerba, Tunisia, under strict security conditions with the participation of more than 60 high-level delegations, according to the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Othman Jérandi.
Those in attendance at the two-day summit, which was postponed twice since 2020, due, officially, to the COVID-19 pandemic, include French President Emmanuel Macron.
Organisers say Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend, despite Ottawa's initial reservations about the authoritarian policies of Tunisian President Kaïs Saied since he took over in July 2021.
According to the coordinator of the Summit, Mohamed Trabelsi, many African heads of state including the presidents of Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mauritania, Niger and Burundi are also participating in the meeting.
An exceptional security arrangement has been put in place on the island of Djerba, a tourist hub in southern Tunisia, which has undergone major transformations thanks to work carried out over the past two years to build dozens of kilometres of roads and improve infrastructure and the environment.
For the past week, the parallel events preceding the summit have given "a new face" to Djerba, which has many historic multi-faith monuments dating back thousands of years, such as the Ghriba synagogue, the oldest in Africa, dating back to 2,500 BC, according to legend.
Spaces dedicated to cultural and artistic activities have been set up for the occasion.
A "Village de la Francophonie", which illustrates the cultural traditions and crafts of the participating countries, was very popular with visitors.
At the entrance to the village, a plaque bears the emblem "Djerba, peace and tolerance", in reference to the long-standing harmonious cohabitation between the Muslim and Jewish communities.
The Summit will be followed by an Economic Forum on 21 and 22 November through which Tunisia hopes to build partnerships with member countries and attract investment.
It will be crowned by a final document entitled the "Djerba Declaration" which summarises the positions of the OIF on current political, social and economic issues, Louise Mushikiwabo, Secretary General of the Organisation, told the press.
According to the former Rwandan Foreign Minister, the ministerial council of the OIF, which prepared the summit, also had to consider "the means of developing the French language, whose use is declining in relation to English in Europe and in international organisations".
The organisers expect "concrete recommendations and pioneering initiatives likely to give new impetus to cooperation within the Francophone space in all areas" and to launch partnerships capable of creating job opportunities to reduce unemployment, which is high, said the head of Tunisian diplomacy.
They said the challenges facing member countries are food and energy security, ways to overcome the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, development financing and debt issues.
On Friday, demonstrators from Zarzis, a town about 50 kilometres away, were turned away by police who used tear gas to disperse them.
They were planning to go to the summit venue where several senior Tunisian officials were present, to protest against what they consider to be the authorities' failings in the management of the tragedy that shook their town following the sinking of a boat full of irregular migrants, which left 18 people dead or missing.
They were angry about the burial of several victims in the "cemetery of the unknowns", without any DNA analysis to identify them.
-0- PANA BB/JSG/BBA/MA 19Nov2022
