Vietnam – responsible member of UNESCO: Director-General

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had a meeting in Paris on June 5 with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay, who affirmed that Vietnam has always been a responsible member and one of the pioneering countries in implementing UNESCO programmes and activities.

The UNESCO leader recalled her good memories during her visit to Vietnam last September.

She highly valued the important and effective contributions that Vietnam has made to the common work of the organisation as a member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the 2021-2025 tenure, the Vice Chair of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Vietnam is a successful model in the connection of economic development and culture, she underlined.

For his part, Son affirmed the important role that UNESCO plays in maintaining and reinforcing peace, sustainable development and prosperity of nations over the past 80 years, and expressed delight at the growing partnership between Vietnam and the organisation.

He affirmed that Vietnam will continue to actively and responsively engage in UNESCO works and implement its international commitments. In this spirit, Vietnam will run for a seat at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 tenure to work with other countries in completing policies and promoting measures to protect the world's cultural and natural heritage, he said, expressing hope to receive support from UNESCO.

Son asked the UNESCO Director-General to continue supporting Vietnam during the country’s international integration and development process, including the provison of resources for the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Vietnam and UNESCO in the 2021-2025 period.

Vietnam hopes to receive policy consultations and experience sharing from the organisation to assist the country in socio-economic recovery and development, he said, suggesting that UNESCO considers the strengthening of cooperation with Vietnam in education, sustainable development, climate change response, basic science, sustainable management of water resources, marine scientific research, and conservation and promotion of heritage values.

The Vietnamese FM said he hopes Azoulay and the UNESCO Secretariat will support Vietnam’s dossiers to seek recognition for new heritages such as Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba archipelago, Yen Tu-Con Son-Kiep Bac relic and landscape complex, Oc Eo - Ba The and Con Moong archaeological sites as well as dossiers for intangible heritages such as the festival honouring the holy lady of Mount Sam, and Dong Ho folk painting. Vietnam also hopes to receive assistance in preserving and promoting the values of UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites, including the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

The UNESCO leader agreed with Son's proposals on cooperation orientations in the coming time, affirming that UNESCO will continue to support Vietnam in areas of education, culture, science and information-communications, while assisting the country in preserving and promoting the heritage values as well as sustainably developing biosphere reserves in Vietnam.

UNESCO will also assist Vietnam in building dossiers of new heritages as well as preserving UNESCO-recognised heritages, including the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, she pledged.

Son took the occasion to invite UNESCO leaders to join the international conference on preserving and promoting the values of UNESCO titles for sustainable development in Vietnam, which is slated for July in Ninh Binh province. Azoulay said that she will send one of her assistants to the event.