Cyprus becomes full member of La Francophonie

Cyprus on Saturday became a full member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie.

The country joins La Francophonie’s 54 other full members, having been an observer since 2006.

The foreign ministry announced the move, offering an “immense thanks to our francophone family for their trust and their valuable support”.

France’s embassy in Nicosia then offered its congratulations to Cyprus on achieving full membership.

La Francophonie was created in 1970 as the Agency of cultural and technical cooperation, succeeding the French Community, which had been set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, which were at the time in the process of decolonisation. It then became La Francophonie in 1997.

As such, the organisation largely comprises former French colonies but has since grown to include other countries across the world, including Armenia, Greece, and North Macedonia.

It is now a global organisation with numerous branches, through which its member states cooperate in the fields of culture, science, the economy, justice, and peace.

Around a billion people live in La Francophonie member states, while the gross domestic product (GDP) of the organisation’s area amounts to around $18 trillion.

La Francophonie’s current secretary-general is Rwanda’s Louise Mushukiwabo, with late United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali having held the post after he left the UN, serving between 1997 and 2002.

Cyprus was ruled by the French-origin House of Lusignan between 1192 and 1489, with Lusignan rule effectively coming to an end when Lusignan King James II died and chose his Venetian wife Caterina Cornaro as his infant son James III’s regent.

James III died of malaria in 1474, and Caterina became queen, and she was forced to sell the administration of Cyprus to the Republic of Venice in 1489.