France-Vietnam Friendship Association President honoured with Friendship Order

The honour is being given in recognition of his active contributions to Vietnamese construction and development efforts, along with the strengthening of solidarity, friendship, and co-operation between the two countries.

As part of his address, Dussarps recalled some unforgettable memories about the nation, stating that he and his friends started raising funds and donations for Vietnamese people when he was an electrical engineer at French electricity group EDF. He first came to the country in 1986 to work for a project on the installation of electrical system in vaccine laboratories of Ho Chi Minh City’s Pasteur Institute.

Between 1998 and 2018, the AAFV President raised funds for roughly 500 projects across the nation, worth approximately EUR4,500 each on average, according to statistics compiled by the AAFV. These projects involved the construction of dozens of kindergartens and primary classrooms, as well as drilling hundreds of wells, improving rural sanitation and hygiene, providing assistance to families hit by natural disasters, and accelerating HIV/AIDS prevention and control throughout the country.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang hailed the French activist's contributions to an array of effective activities and projects that have served to benefit the Vietnamese people, particularly ethnic minorities and Agent Orange/Dioxin victims.

He also praised the efforts made by the AAFV and the France – Vietnam association for cultural and technical cooperation (ACOTEC), of which Dussarps is a member. Indeed, this group has contributed to deepening the friendship and all-around partnership between the two countries.