A ceremony took place in Hanoi on June 15 to mark the 35 th years since Vietnam ’s National Commission for UNESCO (UNESCO Vietnam) was set up.

Among the guests at the event were Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan and Eric Falt, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information and head of UNESCO’s National Commissions in Asia and the Pacific.

On speaking at the ceremony, UNESCO Vietnam’s General Secretary Pham Cao Phong said that after being established on June 15, 1977, UNESCO Vietnam became one of 198 UNESCO national commissions around the world. It helps to maintain international peace and security by encouraging cooperation between countries in culture, education and sciences.

The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thanh Son, Chairman of Vietnam’s National Commission for UNESCO, stressed that UNESCO is important to people and is significant for the country’s integration and socio-economic development.

In the future, agencies, provinces and the public will continue to take part in the commission’s action programmes to develop the country and make it prosper while upholding UNESCO’s objectives, he said.

Son said he hoped that UNESCO will increase its support for and coordination with Vietnamese UNESCO agencies.

To mark the occasion, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan presented the Independence Order, third class, to Vietnam ’s National Commission for UNESCO.

Later the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan received Eric Falt.

Nhan said that Vietnam hopes to continue receiving support from UNESCO, especially in education and the preservation and restoration of cultural heritages.

He thanked UNESCO for its contributions to Vietnam and the effective programmes it has carried out in the country, including education for all; education for sustainable development; culture and development and for finalising the nations policies on protecting cultural and natural heritages.

Mr Falt acknowledged UNESCO Vietnam’s ceaseless efforts to maintain the country’s distinctive cultural, educational and scientific values and for helping to enrich the world with its cultural heritage treasures.

During his stay in Vietnam , Falt is scheduled to attend a ceremony to award a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Certificate to Thanh Hoa province’s Ho Dynasty Citadel as well as a meeting of UNESCO’s National Committees in the Asia-Pacific region.

Vietnam now has seven world cultural and natural heritages, six world intangible cultural heritages, eight world biosphere reserves, three world documentary heritages and one global geo-park.-VNA