Wad-Medani, Gezira  -- H.E Emmanuelle Blatmann, the French Ambassador to Sudan, has honored Prof. Mohamed Warraq Omar, the former chancellor of the University of

Gezira, by awarding him the Ordre des Palmes académiques (Order of Academic Palms).
"Your academic and personal pages have drawn the attention of the entire France, which wish to honor you…and through you France expresses its attachment to the University of Gezira and its satisfaction with distinguished cooperation we have been committed to," H.E Blatmann said in her speech during the honoring ceremony.
The Ambassador noted that the honoring comes in recongintion of the university's academic career and its contributions to preserving cooperation with France.
Prof. Omar, who was accorded with the Ordre des Palmes académiques (Order of Academic Palms), has been promoted to Officier d'Académie  "Academic Officer" in acknowledgement of his efforts to bridges gaps between nations and civilizations, according to Ambassador Blatmann.
"Like us, you firmly believe in the value of mankind and his ability to improve linguistic and cultural communication with others," she said.
H.E Blatmann noted that the University of Gezira held a scientific francophone conference – the first of its kind in Sudan in 2004, which was focused on energy and environmental fields, supported by the French Embassy in Khartoum.
For his part, the Chancellor of the university Prof. Mohamed Al-Senosi Mohamed welcomed to Ambassador and the French Embassy's staff during the inaugural ceremony held to open a new center for French Association at the College of Medicine.
The Ambassador further explained the French Association is an international network that has been active for more than a century, with 822 member associations in 132 countries in the five continents, aimed at teaching French and promoting francophone culture.
According to Ambassador Emmanuelle Blatmann, the French international francophone association has the membership of 482,000 French learners, 14,300 assistants, including 8.900 teachers, 3.3 million viewers and visitors around the world.
She stressed that the University of Gezira is part of such an association, expressing her pride in the existence of three francophone societies in Sudan's major cities of Obeid, Wad-Medani and Port Sudan.  
French is currently ranked sixth among world languages, after Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic. But it is gaining speakers quickly and, it will be spoken by 750 million in 2050, up from 220 million today, according to H.E Emmanuelle Blatmann.  
The Ordre des Palmes académiques (Order of Academic Palms) is a national order of France for distinguished academics and figures in the world of culture and education. Originally a decoration founded by Emperor Napoleon to honor eminent members of the University of Paris, it was changed into its current form as an order on 4 October 1955 by President René Coty.
In 1866, the scope of the award was widened to include major contributions to French national education and culture made by anyone, including foreigners. It was also made available to any French expatriates making major contributions to the expansion of French culture throughout the rest of the world