(Quebec) For the first mission abroad of his second term, Prime Minister François Legault will travel to Tunisia, where the 18e Francophonie Summit, in November, according to what The Canadian Press learned on Friday.
Posted at 4:24 p.m.
The reliable government source who confirmed the information, but who requested anonymity due to his duties, added that the echoes from Ottawa indicated that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who questioned his participation in the Summit, would also be present in Tunisia, despite its reservations.
Officially, Canada’s presence at the Francophonie Summit has still not been confirmed. That of Quebec was finally confirmed at the end of the day on Friday.
Postponed twice due to the pandemic, the Francophonie Summit will be held on November 19 and 20 in Djerba, an island off the Tunisian coast, known for its welcoming beaches. Tunisia’s Francophonie Summit was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, then in 2021.
Prime Minister Legault should be accompanied by his new Minister of International Relations, Martine Biron, who will be taking her first steps on the international scene in a diplomatic role.
La Francophonie is the only international forum where Quebec is a full partner.
Reports have recently circulated in the media of behind-the-scenes negotiations by Prime Minister Trudeau with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, to request a further postponement of the event, due to the unstable political situation in Tunisia.
The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), which oversees the event, brings together 88 states and governments around the world and some 300 million Francophones, especially in Africa.
The last such summit took place in Yerevan, Armenia, in October 2018, when Prime Minister Legault had just been elected head of government.