UNESCO Pledges More Assistance to Vietnam

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay has pledged to continue assisting Vietnam in the fields under her organisation’s management, while meeting with Chairman of the National Commission for UNESCO Ha Kim Ngoc in the northern province of Ninh Binh on September 6.

Rosy Huong

huongthhd@gmail.com September 07, 2022 | 08:06

UNESCO Pledges More Assistance to Vietnam

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay and Chairman of the National Commission for UNESCO Ha Kim Ngoc, who is also Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Photo: The World & Vietnam Report

Azoulay praised the strong development of all aspects in Vietnam, saying Vietnam has the potential and resources for further development, VietnamPlus said.

She highlighted the need for sustainable development, including the preservation of cultural heritage values she has seen in Vietnam. She cited the Trang An Landscape Complex in Ninh Binh as a successful example of the balance between development and heritage preservation.

Ngoc, who is also Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, hailed Azoulay's ongoing visit to Vietnam, considering it an important milestone in ties between Vietnam and UNESCO.

He thanked UNESCO for standing side by side with Vietnam over the years.

He suggested UNESCO continue helping Vietnam fulfil the United Nations sustainable development goal on education (MDG 4), deliver on international commitments on climate change, as well as perfect cultural development policies.

The same day, Azoulay attended a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in Ninh Binh province, VOV said.

An art performance at the ceremony. Photo: The World & Vietnam Report

She hailed praised Vietnamese authorities for fully tapping into the potential of UNESCO’s cultural conventions, noting that over the past five years the group has given support to Vietnamese priorities in completing its legal framework on heritage, as well as the inventory of intangible heritages.

She pointed out that Vietnam's cultural heritages have been honored in recent years, and this is a testament to the importance that both UNESCO and Vietnam recognize in promoting their value.

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay speaks at the event. Photo: The World & Vietnam Report

Acknowledging the significance of the convention and highlighting Vietnam’s related responsible and active implementation, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung informed participants that before the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s world heritage sites served over 19 million visitors in 2019, with related tourism services reeling in 1.8 trillion VND (76.43 million USD).

This is a lively proof of the promotion of the value of heritage, affirming the contributions of world heritages to Vietnam’s socio-economic growth, improving livelihoods for local communities, protecting the environment, and consolidating peace and security towards sustainable development for Vietnam and the world, he stressed.

For his part Ngoc Vietnam is running for a seat in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term and hopes to receive support from other member states of the convention./.

The Convention, adopted by UNESCO at its 17th session in Paris on November 16, 1972, is the only combining cultural and natural heritage protection. As many as 194 states have become members of this convention.

The Convention sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving them. By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the World Heritage sites situated on its territory, but also to protect its national heritage. The States Parties are encouraged to integrate the protection of the cultural and natural heritage into regional planning programs, set up staff and services at their sites, undertake scientific and technical conservation research and adopt measures that give this heritage a function in the day-to-day life of the community.

Since Vietnam ratified the deal on October 19, 1987, it has had eight cultural, natural, and mixed heritages inscribed in the world heritage list. The sites have greatly contributed to local socio-economic development and helped popularise the country’s images to international friends.

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Rosy Huong