Vietnam hopes to strengthen ties with UNESCO

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UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova is on an official visit to Vietnam from August 24-27. On August 24, the UNESCO Director General had a meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, who is also the Chairman of Vietnam’s National UNESCO Committee.

At the meeting.

They agreed that the bilateral relations have developed well and lifted to a new height after the historic visit made by former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, in 2015.To date, both Vietnam and UNESCO have implemented many targets of their Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation effectively.

At the meeting, the two sides discussed cooperation potential and priority goals in the fields of education, culture, science, information and communications.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung then emphasized the importance of UNESCO in implementing the 2030 sustainable development goals, adding that Vietnam and the organisation could share their ideas and experience to serve sustainable socio-economic development.

Deputy Minister Le Hoai Trung speaking at the event.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Irina Bokova affirmed Vietnam has made important contributions to the organisation and spoke highly of the country’s role as a bridge for intensified relations between ASEAN and UNESCO.

On the same day, the UNESCO Director General and Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh on behalf of the Government of Vietnam signed an agreement to establish two category 2 centers in Vietnam under the recognition and auspices of UNESCO.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova speaking at the event.

Ms. Irina Bokova then visited Bai Dinh pagoda in the northern province of Ninh Binh, which is located in the Trang An landscape complex – a UNESCO-recognised Cultural and Natural World Heritage site.

In a meeting with provincial leaders, she appreciated the locality’s policies and efforts to preserve and promote the value of the heritage site.

On the afternoon of August 25, Ms. Irina Bokova arrived in Ho Chi Minh City to visit the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve and a number of the city’s relics and beauty spots and met with leaders of the city.