Representatives of the world’s French-speaking countries met in Tunis on Saturday for talks focused on economic cooperation.
The 18th summit of the Organization internationale de la Francophonie comes more than a year after the country’s president, Kais Saied, began an internationally criticized takeover.
Tunisia is facing a deep economic crisis that has pushed an increasing number of its inhabitants to try to reach Europe.
Seeking to draw delegates’ attention to the issue, hundreds of protesters on Friday tried to highlight the disappearance.
The two-day summit will officially focus on technology and development, but it is also a chance for Western and African leaders to discuss issues like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Around 30 heads of state and government, including Senegalese President Macky Sall and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are meeting on the southern Tunisian resort island of Djerba.
The meeting was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic and delayed again last year after Saied fired the government and suspended parliament.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the International Organization of la Francophonie must be a space for resistance and reconquest.
Macron noted that in North Africa the use of French has declined in recent decades.
But the bloc has also been criticized for not using its influence to resolve crises.
The world’s French-speaking community numbers around 321 million and is expected to reach 750 million by 2050.
