ISLAMABAD: Minister of State and Chairperson BISPMNA Marvi Memon has been awarded with the “Grade d’ Officer” in theNational Order of Merit by President of France Emmanuel Macron.The award was presented to Marvi Memon by French ambassadorMartine Dorance in a reception held at French Residence here on Friday,a press release Friday said.This eminent distinction is one of the major honors of FrenchRepublic, created by General De Gaulle in 1962 as recognition for exceptional individual merits.This distinction is granted not only to French personalities but alsoto foreigners whose talents, actions and generosity deserve a public recognition. The National Order of Merit has 187,000 members of which 50% are women.Speaking on the occasion, Memon said it was an honour for herto receive prestigious French National Order of Merit and humbled by the generosity of the French President, Monsieur Emmanuel Macron for recognizing and valuing her work.Minister Marvi thanked the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Shariffor entrusting her with opportunity to head BISP which has enabled her to contribute to the lives of the most discriminated and therefore to be in a position to receive such a prestigious international award.She reiterated that prime minister’s confidence and support in thevarious achievements stands distinct.She said she feels proud to be spearheading Benazir IncomeSupport Program (BISP)- the biggest social safety network of Pakistan and South Asia.BISP is not just any social safety program, it is a massive investmentin Pakistan’s womenfolk. Since “women are the real architects of society,” investing in women’s economic empowerment through BISP is setting a direct path towards poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth for our country.She said having spent part of her childhood in France whereshe received her early education, she found resonance between Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s vision for a society “Unity, Faith and Discipline” and French national motto “Libert‚, ‚galit‚, fraternite” (liberty, equality, fraternity).French ambassador Martine Dorance congratulated Memon andconveyed unwavering support by the President of French Republic to the development of relations between France and Pakistan.Memon has been awarded this award in recognition of her services forthe people of Pakistan and her devotion to promote relations between France and Pakistan.Marvi Memon is the first Pakistani woman to be awarded the NationalOrder of Merit with the rank of officer.The ceremony was attended by Senator Nisar Memon, ministers LtGen Abdul Qadir Baloch, Sartaj Aziz, Lt Gen Nasir Janjua, BalighurRehman, Saira Afzal Tarar, President AJK Masood Khan, Jean FrancoisCautain EU Ambassador, Thomas Drew British High Commissioner,parliamentarians and members of diplomatic community.