Beirut to host next Francophone summit meeting

The secretary general for the group of French-speaking states (the Francophone states), Butros Butros Ghali, said the Lebanese capital, Beirut, will host the next summit meeting of the group in the year 2001.

Ghali told reporters on Saturday in a press conference at the current summit of the French-Speaking countries in Moncton, Canada that the idea of convening the next conference in Beirut will be the dialogue for cultures and civilizations, a matter which reflects the confidence entrusted by the Francophone group in the efforts made to rebuild the city after the end of the devastated civil war.

The Francophone group includes some 52 French-speaking states and regional governments.