Empowered by President Nguyen Minh Triet, Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem bestowed the decoration on the diplomat at a ceremony held in Hanoi on Jan. 21.

Khiem said the order recognised the ambassador’s positive contributions to boosting friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and France.

During his term of office, Bolot greatly contributed to the success of visits by senior leaders of both countries, promoted the operations of trade missions and created favourable conditions for Vietnamese and French businesses to expand cooperative ties, the deputy PM said.

He added that the ambassador also put forth numerous initiatives and spared no efforts to step up bilateral cooperation in other fields, including culture and education.

Ambassador Bolot said it was an honour to receive the prestigious award, and pledged to contribute further to strengthening the France-Vietnam friendship./.