Việt Nam confers Friendship Order on German journalist

December 18, 2017 | 17:06

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BERLIN – German journalist and author Hellmut Kapfenberger has been presented with the Friendship Order by the President of Việt Nam in recognition of works that have enhanced mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries.

German journalist and author Hellmut Kapfenberger has been presented with the Friendship Order by the President of Việt Nam in recognition of works that have enhanced mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries. - VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Văn Thắng

Kapfenberger is a former correspondent of the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR) AND news agency and Neues Deutschland (New Germany) newspaper in Việt Nam in 1970-1973 and 1980-1984.

His reports on Việt Nam greatly promoted solidarity between the two countries during wartime and the first years following the country’s reunification.

After he returned to his homeland, he was a member of the GDR’s Committee on Việt Nam and participated in activities aimed at strengthening bilateral friendship and co-operation.

After retiring, he spent time doing research, collecting documents and writing books on Việt Nam, some of which have been translated into Vietnamese, like Hồ Chí Minh – Một biên niên sử (Hồ Chí Minh – A chronicle), Berlin – Bonn – Saigon – Hanoi, Vietnam - ein dreizigjähriger Krieg 1945-1975 (Vietnam – A 30-year war 1945-1975), and Đường mòn Hồ Chí Minh (The Hồ Chí Minh Trail).

In 2012, Kapfenberger handed over to Việt Nam a Hồ Chí Minh Order commissioned by the German Democratic Republic, the only country that had an order named after the late Vietnamese President, and some other artifacts illustrating solidarity with Việt Nam.

At the Friendship Order presentation ceremony held in Berlin on Friday, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Đoàn Xuân Hưng appreciated Kapfenberger’s contributions to bilateral relations and hoped it would continue in the coming years.

VNA

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