On behalf of the President of Vietnam, Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu presented the country’s highest award for foreignersto the 87-year-old in a ceremony held in Berlin on January 5.
The diplomat showed hisgratitude towards Klinkmann for his tireless contributions to Vietnam and thebilateral ties. Throughout his life, the German professor has dedicated to savingpeople’s lives and constantly nurturing the Vietnam-Germany partnership in notonly health care but also economy, culture, sports and education, he highlighted.
Klinkmann, for his part, expressed his pride for the honour, saying he expects the friendship andpartnership between the two peoples will expand further in thefuture. He also said he was impressed with Vietnamese people’s desire forindependence which motivated him and his companions to work together to promotefriendship with and provide support to Vietnam.
A student and then a lecturer at the University ofRostock, one of the oldest universities in Germany, Prof. Dr. Horst Klinkmann providedactive support for the first Vietnamese medical students in the universityafter the restoration of peace in Vietnam in 1954.
Klinkmann has helped promote the Vietnam-Germany links ineducation and medicine, reflected by the establishment of the Viet-Duc Friendship Hospital and Nghe An’s Vinh General Hospital, and delivermuch-needed medical supplies to Vietnam when the country was in difficulty because of blockade in the past./.