Nguyen Van Me, former Deputy Secretary of the Party’s Committee of central Thue Thien-Hue province, and Buu Y, a Hue culture researcher, received French Orders in the city of Hue on May 4.

French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean Noel Poirier presented Me with the National Order of Merit and Y with the Order of Academic Palms for their contributions to bringing the French culture to central Vietnam.

France was a key partner to Hue, having supported the locality to organise Hue Festivals since 2000. The French Culture Centre in the city was established 25 years ago in an effort to promote the French culture among the local community and give the French a better insight into the beauty of the Vietnamese culture.

At the award ceremony, Me and Y expressed their thanks for the contribution of the French partners to strengthening the Vietnamese-French relationship through events and activities of the Parliament of the French Community and the International Association of Francophone Mayors.

The ties between France and the province have grown significantly in the past few decades with a number of joint projects, including those to improve local grids, upgrade the Hue water supply plant, restore the Hue Imperial Citadel, supply medical equipment and offer personnel training for local universities and hospitals.

Nguyen Van Me is also the former Chairman of the provincial People’s Council and the former Chairman of Hue City People’s Committee while Buu Y is the former Director of Hue’s French Culture Centre.-VNA