The traditional reception devoted to the launch of the Two-month Francophonie Season was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Mar. 10.

The event began with welcoming remarks by RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandyan, who expressed gratitude to Patricia Kaas for her presence and for giving a brilliant concert devoted to Edit Piaf, marking the launch of the two-month Francophonie Season in Armenia, reports the RA MFA press office to “Hayern Aysor”.

“This year Armenia will be celebrating International Francophonie Day once again with more than 400 cultural, artistic, educational events and events at universities that will be held in the course of the next two months.

The organizing of more than 400 events during the Two-month Francophonie Season is unprecedented not only in Armenia, but also in the member countries of the Francophonie.

What’s important is the involvement of Armenia’s state structures, including the National Assembly, the Ministries of Territorial Administration, Education and Science and Culture and Yerevan Municipality, which support the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordinating the activities. The active participation of local self-governing bodies is also commendable.

It’s nice to see that Armenian schoolchildren and university students are the moving force for disseminating the values of Francophonie.

I would like to express gratitude to the diplomatic representations of Francophonie member countries for helping make the Two-month Francophonie Season in Armenia a success, and especially the Embassy of France and the Ambassador, who helps make this event a success every year.

The Two-month Francophonie Season also serves as an opportunity for Armenia to reaffirm its devotion to the values of Francophonie. It goes to show how important it is for Armenia to belong to the Francophone territory, which is an effective framework for dialogue and cooperation and provides the opportunity to work in a more coordinated manner in the international arena.

We can record with satisfaction that Armenia has strengthened cooperation with Francophone organizations in all spheres. In that context, I would like to emphasize the close collaboration between Armenia and the International Organization of La Francophonie. The February 5 decision of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie on granting the RA National Assembly the status of a full-fledged member of La Francophonie is commendable. The decentralized cooperation is also dynamic, and evidence of that is the holding of the conference on Armenian-French Decentralized Cooperation with the participation of more than 30 local self-governing bodies.

This shows that the Two-month Francophonie Season in Armenia is fully in line with the close ties established between Armenia and La Francophonie. I am certain that it will be well received by the public at large this year as well. I wish the Two-month Francophonie Season success,” said Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Patricia Kaas and French Ambassador to Armenia Henri Reynaud also delivered welcoming remarks.

Among those attending the event were representatives of Armenian government agencies, NA Deputies, heads of Armenia’s local self-governing bodies, Ambassadors accredited to the Republic of Armenia, leaders of French organizations in Armenia and high-profile scientists and educators.

On Mar. 9, famous singer Patricia Kaas gave a concert at Karen Demirchyan Sport-Concert Complex in the presence of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Serbia as part of the Two-month Francophonie Season and was well received by the Armenian audience.