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