“Democracy and Francophonie” was the title of the conference held at the National Assembly on the occasion of the International Francophonie Day. The initiative for the conference was proposed by the Chairman of the Permanent Delegation of the National Assembly to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, Mr. Chetin Kazak. At the opening the President of the National Assembly, Mrs. Tsetska Tsacheva, remarked that the event celebrates the values of the Francophonie, namely peace, democracy, human rights, tolerance, solidarity, language and cultural diversity.

Today 75 states and more than 890 million people around the World celebrate the International Day of the Francophonie, aware of the power of their unity in the name of an emerging new culture, which takes responsibility for the destiny of the mankind and the planet, Tsetska Tsacheva declared.
She added that the affiliation of Bulgaria to the International Organization of the Francophonie confirms the readiness of Bulgarians to continue a tradition supported enthusiastically by many generations. I avail myself of the opportunity to express, on behalf of the Bulgarian parliament, our satisfaction with the establishment of the Francophone group of ambassadors in Bulgaria and with its activities. I would also like to thank our partners who support the bilateral aspect of the Francophonie, such as France, Belgium, the delegation of Valone – Brussels, Switzerland and Luxemburg, noticed the Speaker of Parliament.

According to Mr. Chetin Kazak, Chairman of the Permanent Delegation of the National Assembly to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, the organization shows ambitions aimed at cultural diversity, pluralism and multiple languages. He added the crossing point between parliamentarism and francophonie was democracy. The Member of Parliament emphasized that the responsibilities of the national representatives ensue directly from the people and they as guardians of the democratic values were very pleased with the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, proved by the current conference.

The Bulgarian membership to the Francophone Organization was part of the new foreign policy of Bulgaria, part of our new democratic features and testimony of our political maturity, noticed the first democratically elected Bulgarian President, Mr. Zhelyo Zhelev. He commented that the Francophonie had always been a powerful tool for establishment and building democracy.

The conference was attended by deputies, vice-ministers, ambassadors, representatives of international organizations and institutions in Bulgaria and political scientists.