MoFA enhances ties with UNESCO to promote cultural diplomacy: Minister

Hanoi (VNA) – To promote cultural diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has proactively coordinated with international organisations, especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

He made the remark while responding to a legislator’s question about cultural diplomacy at a question-and-answer session on March 18 that was part of the 31st meeting of the NA Standing Committee.

Son noted that cultural diplomacy has helped Vietnam not only introduce its land and people to the international community but also acquire cultural quintessence of the world via cultural exchanges.

In that spirit, the MoFA has proactively coordinated with international organisations, especially UNESCO. Among the seven most mechanisms of UNESCO, Vietnam has been elected to five, including the World Heritage Committee, helping the country enhance cultural cooperation with international friends, he emphasised.

At the national level, the minister said, cultural diplomacy has helped make an impression of Vietnam’s friendliness. Recent external activities of senior leaders have also been highlighted with cultural diplomatic events.

Localities nationwide have also paid attention to building and popularising their images through festivals, receiving high evaluation from international friends, he said.

With regard to heritage preservation and promotion, Son said cultural heritage and the UNESCO-recognised projects are not only precious assets that clearly reflect the country’s cultural identity but also hold global values. Therefore, promoting images of these heritages aims to bring into play the soft power, raise the country’s stature in the international arena, and more importantly, contribute to socio-economic development.

The MoFA will propose policies to practically and effectively strengthen Vietnam’s cooperation with UNESCO and also ask UNESCO to give guidance, he noted.

Talking about the MoFA’s efforts, the minister elaborated that it has provided localities with information about things that need to be done to preserve and bring into play those heritages to serve sustainable socioeconomic development. It has also invited many leaders of UNESCO to visit Vietnam and worked with relevant parties to hold this organisation’s first meeting on cultural heritage preservation and promotion.

Besides, the MoFA has assisted localities to compile dossiers seeking UNESCO’s recognition of more heritages, and continued to introduce the country’s heritages to international friends as has been thus custom thus far, according to the minister./.