Vietnam’s election to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has proved the country’s consolidated role, position and its determination of full integration into world cultural cooperation.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son, Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, said in an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of Vietnam’s election to the 21-member World Heritage Committee (WHC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for the 2013-2017 tenure on November 19.

This is good news and an honour for Vietnam, a country of many globally recognised heritages as this is the first time Vietnam has been elected to the post, he said.

According to the Deputy FM, Vietnam is ready to share difficulties with UNESCO and has hosted several important activities, including the consultative meeting of UNESCO National Commissions for the Asia-Pacific region and a conference on the 1972 World Cultural Heritage Convention last year.

In his opinion, the more Vietnam’s role and position in the world arena are consolidated, the stronger its voice in international organisations, including UNESCO.

Vietnam has proposed many initiatives at the UNESCO Executive Council’s meetings and twice been elected as a member of the council, he said, adding that this demonstrates the country’s success in UNESCO and heritage affairs.

According to the diplomat, Vietnam has maintained a good relationship with UNESCO over the past time.

The country’s proposals regarding UNESCO reforms have been appreciated, he added.

“Becoming a WHC member, the country’s responsibility has grown as it has the right to judge and contribute to other countries’ heritages,” he said.

According to Son, in order to show its responsibility, Vietnam must be fair and show the capacity of the country’s experts in making judgments on other countries’ heritages.

“This requires experienced experts to meet UNESCO’s demands on heritage assessment,” he said, stressing the importance of staff training.

He added that in the coming time, the National Commission for UNESCO will work closely with UNESCO in the organisation’s activities.

“Together with international friends’ support, I believe Vietnam will be successful in its capacity as a member of the WHC,” Son said.-VNA