The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that on the morning of May 20, at the Headquarters of the Party Central Committee Office, General Secretary To Lam received Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the World Heritage Center of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO.
The General Secretary thanked Mr. Lazare for always accompanying and contributing to the conservation and promotion of heritage in Vietnam. The General Secretary highly appreciated UNESCO's role in promoting peace, security and sustainable development, and acknowledged the support and cooperation over the past 50 years with Vietnam.
The General Secretary said that Vietnam currently has 72 UNESCO titles, including 8 world cultural and natural heritages. These titles become an important resource for local socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of national cultural heritage.
The General Secretary affirmed that Vietnam is an active and trustworthy partner of UNESCO, always contributing effectively in management agencies, including the World Heritage Committee. Vietnam is striving for strong and prosperous development, based on the combination of economy, society, environment, culture, education, science, innovation and digital transformation.
The General Secretary emphasized the role of culture as a spiritual foundation and driving force for national development. The cultural development program for the period 2025-2035 is being implemented to preserve heritage and improve the spiritual life of the people, especially in remote areas.
General Secretary suggested UNESCO and Mr. Lazare personally continue to support Vietnam to spread cultural values into the world, preserve heritage. The General Secretary asked UNESCO to soon approve the dossier of restoration of Kinh Thien electricity and the main space in Thang Long Imperial Citadel; Supporting the development of the nomination of Co Loa citadel is a world heritage; Support to enroll in the relics and landscapes of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac at the 47th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Paris in July 2025.
For his part, Mr. Lazare expressed his honor to meet the General Secretary on the occasion of the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birth, affirming that his ideology and heritage are in line with the core values pursued by UNESCO.
Mr. Lazare conveyed the congratulations of the UNESCO Director General to the General Secretary, highly appreciating the results of the General Secretary's visit to UNESCO headquarters. He emphasized that Vietnam is a trustworthy strategic partner, an effective cooperation model with UNESCO, and has many initiatives that need to be shared with member countries.
The Director of the World Heritage Center expressed his impression of Vietnam's dynamic development, highly appreciating policies to promote education, culture, science and technology and digital transformation. He agreed with the orientation of promoting the role of culture and heritage for sustainable development.
He pledged to accompany Vietnam in preserving and promoting the 8 existing world heritages, especially supporting the restoration of Kinh Thien Palace and recognizing new heritages such as Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac and Thanh Co Loa.
