The United Nations Educational Scientific and Culture Organization will assist Viet Nam in the transfer of experience and expertise for sustainable development, said Director General Irina Bokova while meeting with PM Nguyen Tan Dung in Ha Noi on June 20.
Bokova is in Viet Nam from June 19-23 to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 2003 Convention on protecting world intangible cultural heritages and to review the implementation of the UNESCO–Viet Nam agreement signed three years ago.
She underscored Viet Nam’s significant role in increasing understanding and cooperation among UNESCO member nations.
The guest highly valued Viet Nam’s preservation and protection of heritages as well as its progress in education development and coping with climate change, adding that she hopes Viet Nam will back UNESCO in the prompt signing of a cooperation deal with the Association of South East Asian Nations.
PM Dung highlighted that Viet Nam will continue promoting all-around links with UNESCO and support its cooperation with ASEAN, including cooperation deals.
He expressed his hope that UNESCO will back Viet Nam’s dossiers seeking world heritage status, including Trang An scenic landscape complex in northern Ninh Binh province, Cat Ba tourism complex in northern Hai Phong city, southern amateur singing and Nghe Tinh folk singing.
Earlier, Bokova held talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son, who is also Chairman of the Viet Nam National UNESCO Commission.
At a later press briefing, Bokova said the two sides discussed key issues that UNESCO will help Viet Nam in the time to come, including the improvement of managerial capacity, coping with new challenges in culture, education, heritage, climate change and the preservation of biosphere reserves.
During her stay, Bokova will tour central Quang Nam province - the only locality with two world heritage sites and one world biosphere reserve, and take part in the opening ceremony of the Quang Nam Heritage Festival.
She will also attend a ribbon cutting ceremony for Tower G, one of the most important structures inside My Son sanctuary restored with funding from UNESCO and the Italian Government.