YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. La Francophonie of the future must be optimistic, creative, ready to compete, ready to face crises and challenges the international community faces nowadays. Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie Michaëlle Jean said the aforementioned in her exclusive interview with “Armenpress”.

You have been Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie for almost a year. You have been engaged into active work. How do you see the future of La Francophonie? To which programs do you attach great importance and which of them are you going to bring to life?

Heads of states and governments presented us with a clear and concise road map at Dakar summit. They want  La Francophonie to be consistently engaged in economic issues, as well as ensure active involvement of  women and youth in its activities. The road map guides us to act in accordance with global urgent issues and follow the developments in member countries. It urges us to be more initiative. It urges us to be creative adjusting the strategy to a given region. These are the principles that have guided me since I assumed office. I want to see a “Francophonie ” which will be perceivable and will allow the citizens of Francophone countries to see themselves in the organizations’ actions and words.

Francophonie must be exemplary both in terms of politics and democracy. It must promote dialogue and coexistence. All of these must comprise of specific proposals and actions connected with the present global economic situation and provision of security.

Acting in behalf of job creation and involvement of women and youth in economy, providing inclusive and high-quality education, aspiring to promote the foundation and development of small enterprises , we assume the important role of building a fairer world.  

Basing on linguistic, cultural, political, diplomatic and economic grounds created by my predecessors, I want to build a Francophonie of peoples and solutions, one that is optimistic, creative, ready to compete, ready to face crises and challenges the international community faces nowadays.

Does the International Organization of La Francophonie in its current structure meet the challenges it faces? Do you intend to make any changes in the management system of the organization?

The International Organization of La Francophonie is a modern institution with modern and innovative programs. For years, the International Organization of La Francophonie, its Parliamentary Assembly and partners have made efforts to modernize the organization. We aspire to create a system that will promote centralized control over the results, evaluation carried out based on our projects, joint activities and will lay emphasis on decentralization in favour of regional development.

I was impressed with the quality, motivation and the implemented projects of the team when I first entered the International Organization of La Francophonie this year in January.  We adopted a new four-year strategy during the last summit. Due to the declaration adopted by heads of states we already have the outline of the roadmap.  I expect to implement it successfully. Similarly I would like to reconsider ways of our dialogue and cooperation with the civil society, youth and especially international organizations aimed at developing La Francophonie of peoples and solutions. The activities between the International Organization of La Francophonie and non-governmental organizations are currently in progress. 

 What are the spheres that Francophonie cooperates with other international organizations?

Complementarity is the basis of our organization’s interaction with its institutional partners. Francophonie operates where it has added value compared to other organizations. In general, we usually consult with partner organizations and act intelligently in order to derive maximum results from our activities. We collaborate with most of international organizations in 4 strategic directions: French language, peace and democracy, education and economy. We are engaged in a very intensive cooperation network, we trust in both institutional and expert networks which are our wealth and make Francophonie one of the most transparent organizations of the world.

Which is the role of Francophonie international organization in strengthening cooperation and development between different states?

The international organization of Francophonie has the capability to gather high ranking officials and representatives of 80 states from 5 continents around one table. And just that diversity, which is our master card, is our wealth. We consolidate powerful industrial countries of G8, such as France and Canada, countries that have recently become EU members, as well as economically not so well-developed countries under the auspices of our organization. In addition to the general language, the Francophone countries share common worldview and values. Nevertheless, we realize that parallel with this abundant diversity, there are also seditious inequalities in the spheres of economy, education, sanitary, population, environment which deepen further as a result of globalization.  This complicated reality is here to remind Francophonie about its duty to disseminate solidarity which is the main course of our multilateral cooperation in sustainable economic and educational development, as well as in the spheres of our political interferences for democracy, human rights and peace. In a word, solidarity is the focus of our activities. The idea is not only about North-South solidarity, but also about cooperation between southern countries as well as developing countries.

How would you assess Armenia’s role in the international organization of Francophonie.

Armenia is a very dynamic member of our organization and its voice is heard by everyone. It is particularly active in the memorial year of 2015, towards which I am particularly sensitive and attentive, which commits all of us to work hard. Moreover, Armenia has embraced the goals of protecting and advancing the French language, diversity and coexistence of cultural forms of expression. I know how much importance Armenia attaches to this ministerial conference, which is a sign of Armenia’s increasing inclusiveness in Francophonie. I am happy to visit Armenia to disseminate these pivotal messages.

 What are your expectations from the ministerial conference arranged in Armenia?

The ministerial conference is an essential platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas between ministers responsible for Francophonie issues. This year it will give us an opportunity to evaluate the implementation of Dakar recognizances. We will consistently follow the active steps of our member states in the preparatory stage of Paris summit on climate issues which is to be held in a few weeks. In addition, we will prepare Francophonie summit which will be held in 2016 in Madagascar. This will also provide an opportunity to remind about our priorities in the spheres of democracy, as well as sustainable economic development. I reconfirm that facing economic, climate, security and migrant crises, Francophonie tries to demonstrate itself as a region with the best experiences and comprehensive solutions which are spread from this platform to make the master cards of Francophonie states more valid and popular, as well as share them.