The 18th Francophonie summit, initially scheduled for the island of Djerba at the end of November, is postponed for a year, "in
order to allow Tunisia to be able to organize this important body under the most optimal conditions
", according to press releases from of the International Organization of La Francophonie and the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The representatives of the member states and governments of the OIF met face-to-face and videoconference on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo.
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“
The representatives of the member states and governments debated openly and for the sake of cohesion and solidarity, on the organization of the summit in Tunisia within the initially foreseen deadlines. They reached a consensus on the need to postpone the 18th Francophonie summit for one year, in order to allow Tunisia to be able to organize this important body under the most optimal conditions,
”the OIF press release said. For its part, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "
discussions resulted in the consensus of the representatives of the member states concerning Tunisia, host of this summit, and the postponement of the date of its convocation on the island of Djerba to 2022 in order to ensure a broad participation at the highest level and not not having to keep it at bay
”.
Getting past the crisis
The decision must be formally adopted at a Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie. "
This proposal (of the postponement of one year, editor's note) will be validated as soon as the ministers have ruled,
" Oria Vande weghe, spokesperson for the secretary general, told AFP. “
It was a unanimous decision and Tunisia itself expressed its openness to the idea of a postponement. The meeting took place in a spirit of consensus in favor of a postponement of one year and the objective is to allow Tunisia to organize the summit in the best conditions
”, continued the spokesperson. The meeting of ministers should be held in "
ten days,
" she said.
Tunisian President Kais Saied granted himself vast powers by decree on September 22. In the midst of a socio-economic and health crisis and after months of political deadlock, he invoked on July 25 an “
imminent danger
” to dismiss the government and suspend Parliament. Measures denounced as a "
coup
" by his opponents and NGOs. Highly indebted and dependent on international aid, Tunisia is facing a deep economic and social crisis - fall in GDP, high inflation, unemployment at nearly 18% -, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Based in Paris, the OIF has 88 states and governments.
La Francophonie's main missions are to promote the “
French language and cultural and linguistic diversity
”, “
peace, democracy and human rights
”, or even “
to support education
”.