Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu (C) speaks at the UNESCO Executive Board's 214th session. (Photo: VNA)

Speaking at the event, Hieu stressed that Viet Nam always attaches great importance to multilateral cooperation in general and the role of UNESCO in particular, and commits to contributing more actively to the organisation's activities as a member of its Executive Board for the 2021-2025 term.

He suggested that UNESCO, during this session, take specific steps in the fields of education, culture, science, and information and communication to implement the medium-term Vision and Strategy for the 2022-2029 period and the programme and budget for 2022-2025; promote several new issues such as open science, ethics in artificial intelligence, and the future of education; and contribute to the organisation of the United Nations Transforming Education Summit in September 2022 in New York and the upcoming preparatory meeting in Paris.

The UNESCO Executive Board’s session will last until April 13, discussing more than 50 topics on the organisation's activities.

It is expected to approve a list of new and expanded global geoparks, including Viet Nam’s Non Nuoc Cao Bang.

On this occasion, the head of the Vietnamese delegation had a meeting with the President of the UNESCO General Conference and the heads of other countries’ delegations to promote multilateral cooperation and campaign for Viet Nam's candidacy as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Convention 2003) for the 2022-2026 term.

Deputy FM Hieu also met UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, its Deputy Director-General and the President of the Intergovernmental Committee to discuss how to intensify the two sides’ cooperation in the time to come to realise the memorandum of understanding on bilateral collaboration in the 2021-2025 period signed last year within the visit to UNESCO headquarters by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.