Deputy PM hails UNESCO’s four-decade achievements

Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh lauded achievements gained by the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO over the past four decades since its birth during a ceremony celebrating its 40th anniversary (June 15) in Hanoi on June 12.

Minh expressed his delight at close liaison between Vietnam and UNESCO, as well as the success of numerous UNESCO-supported programmes in Vietnam.

The commission has successfully fulfilled its mission as a bridge linking Vietnam, its history, culture and people, with the world, contributing to improving Vietnam’s stature in international arena as well as the country’s multilateral diplomacy, he said.

He believed that with the 40-year entry to UNESCO and support of ministries, agencies, localities and people nationwide, the commission will continue building on the past achievements to make practical contributions to country development and UNESCO in particular.

Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the commission Le Hoai Trung lauded the agency’s effective contributions to country development over the past four decades, especially in culture, education, science, information and communications.

He said the commission has received UNESCO’s assistance in access to know-how, technology and global funding to contribute to national construction, as well as fine-tuning laws, Party and State policies and guidelines.

According to him, UNESCO has recognised 35 world heritage sites in Vietnam, including 8 world natural and cultural heritages, 11 world intangible heritages, 6 documentary heritages in the Global Memory of the World Programme, 9 global biosphere reserves and a global geological park.-VNA