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On March 20 the International Day of Francophonie and one-month events were celebrated with presentation of the French webpage of the parliamentary website, which took place in the National Assembly. The NA Speaker Samvel Nikoyan, deputies, adviser-ambassador of the Foreign Minister on Francophonie Christian Ter-Stepanian, the ambassadors of France and Switzerland to Armenia, representatives of French organizations and educational institutions attended the event.

The NA Speaker has noted that from now on the website of the National Assembly of Armenia “will speak” also in French through online communication, making accessible to the world the news of the Armenian Parliament. In the NA Speaker’s words, it is the gift of the National Assembly to the French speaking readers on the occasion of the International Day of Francophonie. One year ago in the official website of the parliament the pages telling about the history, functions and structure of the National Assembly were begun to be translated in the French language.

The Speaker of the National Assembly in his welcoming word noted the important role of the Parliamentary Assembly of Francophonie in political freedoms and protection of rights, rise of the role and cooperation of the parliaments, reminding those present that the National Assembly of Armenia in 2009 received status of Associated member. “We highlight the parliamentary diplomacy, and we are convinced that the cooperation between the parliaments of member countries have big role and potential in preservation of all-human values, linguistic-cultural variety, establishment of peace, development of democracy, protection of human rights adopted by Francophonie.

As a result of this cooperation, the parliament has become a beneficiary of “Noria” programme, within the framework of which the NA official website of the National Assembly is translated into French, as well as French courses are held for 40 employees of the parliament.

Armen Rustamyan, Head of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of Francophonie, also welcomed the guests in the parliament. He noted that conditioned by historical realities, the cultural and linguistic diversity has become characteristic to the Armenian people. The knowledge of the French language, according to the speaker, is very important for the parliamentarians, as the French is one of the official languages of the international languages. Today the Francophonie organization has also a big role in the protection of human rights, and to the speaker’s conviction, the progress in the sphere of human rights is an important priority for Armenia on the way to European integration.

Thanking those who prepare the French webpage of the National Assembly website, Armen Rustamyan has expressed hope that the new web page will justify the visitors’ expectations.

Konstantin Obeolensky, Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation, has deemed symbolic that the leadership of the parliament has decided to celebrate the Day of Francophonie. In his opinion, the Armenian Parliament is worth becoming a full member of the Parliamentary Assembly of Francophonie with the attitude shown towards the French language. He has considered important and welcoming that the website of the legislative body is translated in different languages.

According to Henry Reynaud, Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary Ambassador of France to Armenia, this parliamentary event also received a political weight, besides cultural and educational importance during the Days of Francophonie. Being impressed by the attention being displayed towards the French language the Ambassador noticed that by ranslating the webpage into different languages the parliament becomes open for the world.

At the end of the event “The Little Singers of Armenia” led by Tigran Hekekyan performed French and Armenian beloved songs, as well as songs by Komitas.