Higher Education PS Collette Suda taking the oath of office. [Photo/nation.co.ke]
The French government has honoured a Principal Secretary serving in President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration.
Higher Education PS Collette Suda has received the medal of the 'Order of Academic Palms' in the grade of Commander.
The French government bestowed the prestigious medal on her in recognition of the key role she has played in supporting the partnership in higher education and research between Kenya and France, the Nation reports.
Prof Suda becomes the first Kenyan to receive this recognition at the highest level.
The Education Ministry, the French Embassy and the three French institutes in Kenya jointly implement this partnership.
It focuses on climate change, space science, agriculture, environment, natural resources, health among others.
"We are committed to strengthening this cooperation further," said Suda in her appreciation remarks.
The three institutes are; French Institute for Research in Africa, Research Institute for Development and International Cooperation Centre for Agronomic Research Applied to Development.
As part of the cooperation in training, the Kenyan government has received a total of 95 scholarships comprising 69 PhD's, 20 Masters degrees and six diploma or relevant advanced courses.
French Ambassador to Kenya Antonie Sivan hailed the partnership saying it has boosted research programmes between France and Kenya universities.
"This is indeed a very significant capacity building support towards Kenya," said Sivan.