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Romania hopes that along with the developments in the Western Balkans, the Francophone community will be able to expand in this area as well, Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Tuesday at the meeting with Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), Louise Mushikiwabo.
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"We have talked about Francophonie in Romania and about the real attachment of Romanians to French and the values of culture and civilization, which have as a vector the French language. We also discussed the role of Romania's Franchophonie port-parole in our region. We have also approached specific aspects of our region where the Francophonie is certainly a free, not an imposed choice. We greatly hope, with the developments in the Western Balkans, to grow the Francophone community in this area," Teodor Melescanu told a the press conference at the Palace of Parliament, held alongside the Secretary General of the OIF.
Melescanu also referred to Romania's contribution to Francophonie, to 'Eugen Ionescu' scholarships, the Romania-France cultural season, which includes a very important francophone component, to the Romanian diplomats who run the Group of Francophone Ambassadors in New York, Brussels, Geneva and in other major capitals on the world's meridians.
"We have mentioned that Romania is the first in the European Union from the point of view of the bilingual school and university branches with a French-speaking component. We reminded that the only Francophonie Square in Central Europe exists in Bucharest," Melescanu said.
"Last but not least, we consulted on the anniversaries in the year 2020 when the institutionalized Francophonie celebrates 50 years since its creation," added Melescanu.
The head of the Romanian diplomacy reminded, in context, that Romania will host the international conference of the Francophonie ministers for higher education in Bucharest in June.
On Tuesday, Teodor Melescanu attended the opening session of the conference "Strengthening resilience to natural disasters", which is taking place at the Parliament Palace, under the aegis of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, alongside the OIF Secretary General.
AGERPRES .
