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Sophia, a social humanoid robot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), will arrive in Armenia to take part in the Francophonie Economic Forum in capital Yerevan on 10 October.

Sophia the Robot will be one of the keynote speakers at the business forum to be hosted by the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, and will also take part in a Q&A session, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments Mane Adamyan told a news conference on Tuesday.

Sophia became the world's first robot citizen after being granted citizenship of Saudi Arabia in 2017.

Adamyan said Open-Root CEO Louis Pouzin, the inventor of datagram and designer of an early packet communications network, will also be a keynote speaker at the business forum. 

The forum organized on the sidelines of the XVII Summit of the International Organisation of La Francophonie will be held in Armenia for the first time. The event is expected to bring together some 360 attendees, including businessmen from the Francophonie area.

The official says the forum participants will take part in business tours on 9 October, attend the DigiTec Expo, which attracts around 70,000 people annually, as well as visit the Yerevan Ararat Brandy Factory.

The two-day forum will focus on high technologies, sustainable development and commercial ties. The organizers of the business forum also plan to create a network of IT ministers of the Francophonie member states.   

Armenia is hosting the Francophonie summit on 7-12 October.