Vietnam elected member of World Heritage Committee for 2023 - 2027: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc at the interview for media. (Photo: WVR)

Deputy Foreign Minister Ngoc, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, said that this is an outcome of the effective implementation of the cultural diplomacy strategy until 2030 as well as enthusiastic support from international partners.

The election will contribute greatly to popularising the image of Vietnam as a dynamic country in innovation and international integration process yet imbued with traditional identity, he stressed.

According to Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, Head of the Vietnamese Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, the event is a vivid illustration of international community’s confidence in Vietnam’s roles and contributions at UNESCO’s multilateral forums.

She described this as a great opportunity for Vietnam to make further contributions to the world’s strategic issues and cultural policies, and share its experience in developing culture into an intrinsic strength that creates a locomotive for resilient sustainable development.

The 24th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention in Paris. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam should capitalise on the support from foreign countries to turn heritage into asset and potential into resources to serve its socio-economic development, she said.

Meanwhile, Director of the World Heritage Centre Lazare Eloundou Assomo expressed his delight at Vietnam’s election to the heritage committee, elaborating Vietnam is an outstanding example in the implementation of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Vietnam's experience in heritage preservation should be shared with other countries, he stated.

Vietnam was elected member of the World Heritage Committee for the 2023 - 2027 tenure on November 22 with the highest number of votes among Asian-Pacific states.

Securing 121 of the 171 valid votes, Vietnam ranked second among the nine elected states from five regions. The election took place within the framework of the 24th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) in Paris.

The Vietnamese delegation at the 24th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention in Paris on November 22 - 23, 2023. (Photo: WVR)

This is the second time Vietnam has been elected to the most important executive body for culture of UNESCO.

The high number of votes also reflected Vietnam’s prestige in the international arena, the international community’s trust in and support for its contribution and chairmanship capacity at global multilateral institutions, as well as the recognition of the country’s practical contributions to UNESCO and the preservation and promotion of heritage values in Vietnam and the world.

Vietnam will join 20 other member states of the committee to supervise the implementation of the convention, protect, preserve, and bring into play the values of 1,199 world heritage elements around the globe, and consider the recognition of new ones to uphold, promote, and pass down historical and cultural values to future generations and help with sustainable development in the world.

The World Heritage Convention is the one with the biggest membership in UNESCO, 194. Therefore, candidates have to face strong competition to be elected one of the 21 member states of the World Heritage Committee.

With this election, for the first time, Vietnam is taking on the roles at five key mechanisms of the UNESCO at the same time: member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the 2021-2025 tenure, Vice President of the 42nd session of the UNESCO’s General Conference, Vice Chair of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions for the 2021-2025 tenure, and member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-2026 tenure, and member of the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 tenure.

They offer opportunities for the country to engage in the formation of policies and import decision of UNESCO.