(VOVWORLD) - Indian scholar Geetesh Sharma, a longtime friend of Vietnam, passed away in Vishudhanand hospital in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal state, India, on Sunday, one week after contracting COVID-19.
 Geetesh Sharma, President of the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee in West Bengal (Photo: The Daily Star) |
Born in 1932, Mr. Sharma was an experienced journalist and author, who wrote 23 books in Hindi and English, many of which are about Vietnam. His books have been translated into Bengali, Swedish and Vietnamese.
Mr. Sharma, who was President of the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee in West Bengal, was given the Order of Friendship by the Vietnamese President in 2015 for his great contribution to fostering solidarity and friendship between the people of the two countries.
An important witness to the long history of the Vietnam-India relationship, Mr. Sharma visited Vietnam 29 times and traveled to localities across Vietnam.