Cuban intellectual, writer and former Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto was decorated in this capital today with the Order of the Arts and Letters, granted by the French government.

The decoration was awarded by French Ambassador to Havana Jean Mendelsohn, who praised the work of Abel Prieto as Minister of Culture for the last 15 years.

"This decoration is awarded to people who are distinguished by their creation in the art and literature sectors and the contribution they gave to the arts and the literature in France and the rest of the world," said the French Ambassador.

The ceremony was attended by Cuban Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez and Culture Vice Minister Fernando Rojas, in the French Embassy in Havana.

The decoration was created in May 1957 by the French Culture Ministry.
Among the personalities who have been awarded there is Chilean writer Luis Sepulveda.

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