German friends awarded with Vietnam’s noble distinctions
The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany held a ceremony in Berlin on June 10 to present Vietnam’s Friendship Order and Friendship Medal to two German friends in honour of their active contributions to strengthening solidarity, friendship and people-to-people exchange between the two peoples.
Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu (middle) and the two awardees (Photo: VNA)
Berlin (VNA)🐷 – The Vietnamese Embassy inGermany held a ceremony in Berlin on June 10 to present Vietnam’s Friendship Order and Friendship Medal to two German friends in honour of their active contributions tostrengthening solidarity, friendship and people-to-people exchange between thetwo peoples.
Accordingly, the VietnameseState’s noble distinction was bestowed on Chairman of the Germany – Vietnam Association(GVA) Siegfried Sommer while the Friendship Medal was presented to Paul Hoffmann,former Vice Chairman of the GVA and Editor-in-Chief of the “Vietnam Info”e-newspaper. Speaking at the event,Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu hailed the awardees as closeand sincere friends of Vietnam. Sommer worked inVietnam for a decade and was instrumental in modernising Hai Phong port andtraining human resources in the country. Returning to his homeland,he was active in activities of the GVA. More than a decade of working as GVAChairman, he has helped bolstering the friendship between the two peoples. Hoffmann, for his part,worked at representative offices of many German companies in Vietnam. Since2008, he has actively joined GVA’s activities in Germany. His e-newspaper “VietnamInfo” regularly updates German readers on the Vietnamese situation. On the occasion, member ofthe GVA consulting board Nguyen Duc Thang, Sommer and Hoffmann handed over donations from the GVA, and two restaurants - “Madame Thu Trang” and "Mr. An" - in support of the national COVID-19 vaccine fund in Vietnam./.
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Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu (middle) and the two awardees (Photo: VNA) 
