Vietnam elected member of World Heritage Committee for 2023 - 2027: The 24th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention in Paris. (Photo: VNA)

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.

Securing 121 of the 171 valid votes, Vietnam ranked second among the nine elected states from five regions, said the official from the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, said 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, the Deputy Foreign Minister went on.

Vietnam elected member of World Heritage Committee for 2023 - 2027: Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc gave an interview to the press after Vietnam was elected a member of the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term. (Photo: WVR)

The Deputy Foreign Minister added that this also came as a result of the effective implementation of the cultural diplomacy strategy until 2030 and the methodological and widespread campaigning among international partners in Hanoi, Paris, and capital cities of other countries via their representative agencies.

Vietnam elected member of World Heritage Committee for 2023 - 2027: 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 (Photo: WVR))

Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to UNESCO, stressed that as a member of the World Heritage Committee for 2023 - 2027, Vietnam will have favourable conditions to contribute more to the perfection and implementation of the targets and priorities of the World Heritage Convention, and share experience in the harmonisation of world heritage preservation and development.

Vietnam elected member of World Heritage Committee for 2023 - 2027: Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van at the session. (Photo: VNA)

It 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 diplomat noted.

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