Ho Chi Minh and State Prizes presented

President Tran Duc Luong on September 30 conferred 12 Ho Chi Minh Prizes and 41 State Awards to 53 scientific and technological projects at a ceremony held at Ba Dinh Hall in Hanoi.

A report delivered by Chairman of the National Award Council Hoang Van Phong said that the projects honoured this year were of high scientific and practical value, meeting the requirements of economic development and national defence.

Addressing the event, President Luong said that the winners of Ho Chi Minh Prize and State Award had made an important contribution to the nation in the fields of defence, economy, science, technology, culture and arts since the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945.

He stressed that the State would work out better policies and incentives to further develop science and technology and make it the driving force for socio-economic development.

Scientists and intellects, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, should involve themselves more in the service of the nation and of the people, he said.

Award winners

The National Atlas of Vietnam, weighing four kilograms with over 114 maps in 14 chapters, covering the areas of geology, climate, hydrography, relief, soil, flora and fauna, demography, and ethnic populations, was among the recipients of the Ho Chi Minh Prize. The atlas, produced by scientists, was published in 1996 by the State Map Measurement Department.

The Geological Map of Vietnam, published in 1988 by the Mine and Geology Department, and the 1981 Minerals Map of Vietnam, by the Department of Deology, also received Ho Chi Minh Prizes from the State President.

A group of scientists who introduced automation in processing farm produce; Professor Dao The Tuan, author of the work entitled “Scientific Fundamentals for Agricultural and Rural Development in the Hong (Red) River Basin; and a group of agriculturists who developed a sustainable method to protect the ecology of the Ho Chi Minh City’s outlying Can Gia district were among others who received the awards.

Professor Phan Dang Nhat, who complied two collections of Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) epics, and Professor Phan Dai Doan’s work addressing economic, cultural and social issues of Vietnamese villages, published by the Politics Publishing House, Hanoi, in 1991, received the State Awards.

This is the third presentation of Ho Chi Minh Prize and State Award in recognition of those projects’ remarkable contributions to national economic development, science, technology, literature and arts in the process of socialist building and national defence. The previous presentations were made in 1995 with 33 winners and 2000 with 92 winners.

(Source: Nhan Dan)