President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, said in his address at the opening of the Francophone Summit in Yerevan that “the first human bonds at birth are the ones established with the mother, which will determine the person’s mother tongue in the future. That language will contribute to building the person’s personality and characteristics. Later on, other acquired languages during the course of life would open up new prospects of personal enrichment.”

“The more the languages one learns, the more humanely enriched he becomes,” said Aoun, stressing that “the French language in Lebanon is akin to a mother language.”

“Languages are the link between different cultures and identities. Francophone aims not only at making the French language familiar within communities, but to deepening dialogue between civilizations and bringing people closer together,” he said.

“Francophone’s presence in the East is proof of the solidarity and interaction with the Arabic language and culture,” President Aoun affirmed.

During the first session of the Summit, PresidentAoun was elected Vice-President of the Summit. The Prime Minister of Armenia, the host country, was elected the Summit’s president.

Representatives of the Ivory Coast, Haiti, Mauritius, and Vietnam have also been elected vice-presidents.

Source: NNA