France opens honorary consulate in Armenia’s Syunik region

By Alexander Pracht

France opened an honorary consulate in the southern Armenian town of Goris on Monday, marking a symbolic step in deepening its presence in the southernmost Syunik Province.

The new consular agency is housed in a building adjacent to Goris Municipality and will be headed by Karmen Apunts, an Armenian national appointed as France’s Honorary Consul. While France initially announced plans in 2023 to establish a full consulate in Syunik, the mission now opened in Goris is a consular agency with largely symbolic functions.

French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies attended the inauguration ceremony, along with Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan and Syunik Governor Robert Ghukasyan.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Decottignies said that the cooperation between Armenia and France has taken on a strategic dimension in recent years. “What France and Armenia are building together is more than technical cooperation or friendship, it’s a real tool for influence, for supporting Armenia, and for acting in favor of peace,” he said.

The honorary consulate’s opening coincides with the 5th Armenia-France Decentralized Cooperation Conference, also taking place in Goris.

According to Armenian lawmaker Armen Khachatryan from the ruling Civil Contract party, discussions about a French diplomatic presence in Syunik began shortly after Azerbaijan’s September 2022 military offensive in the region. “From that point on, talks began about establishing a consular presence in Goris, which is very important and will have a positive impact on the overall atmosphere,” he told reporters earlier this week.

France’s decision to choose Goris is also rooted in the town’s longstanding cultural ties with the Francophone world. Goris has been home to a French cultural center since 2006 and is considered one of Armenia’s most Francophone cities, where French is widely taught in schools.

With the opening of the consular office on Monday, France has become the second country to have a diplomatic presence in Syunik, following Iran’s launch of a consulate in the provincial capital Kapan in October 2022. While Russia also announced its intention to open a consulate in the town in 2023, there has been no progress in this regard so far, with sources in diplomatic circles suggesting that it may be Armenia that is stalling the consulate’s launch.

Speaking at the conference, Ambassador Decottignies mentioned the French humanitarian aid to Syunik, the province that accommodated tens of thousands of Karabakh refugees following the September 2023 ethnic cleansing, and added that with the diplomatic mission now open in Goris it is obvious that “France, its state, its society, and its organizations, remain on Armenia’s side.”