Rwanda has been invited to the 36th Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie which begins in Monaco, France on Wednesday marking the latest sign of a thaw in relations between Kigali and Paris.
The La Francophonie meeting is being held in Monaco for the first time.
It brings together, for two days, the ministers responsible for the Francophonie in 88 states and governments around the French language and the French-speaking world, a statement obtained Wednesday by APA in Kigali said.
At the summit, participant and strategic ministerial summit will discuss key aspects in line with the organisation’s mandate including promoting peace, democracy and human rights and supporting education, training, higher education and scientific research among member countries.
The organization was created in 1970 to promote the French language, peace, and sustainable development with Rwanda as a founding member.
La Francophonie’s 84 member states and observers represent over one-third of UN members and accounts for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers.
In October 2018, former Rwandan Foreign Affairs minister Louise Mushikiwabo was unanimously elected as the new Secretary General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) during the summit of heads of state and government of the organisation which took place in Yerevan the capital of Armenia.
CU/as/APA