Int'l conference discusses ways to promote values of UNESCO titles for sustainable development in Vietnam

The event was co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO and the Ninh Binh provincial People's Committee.

Speaking at the conference, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Pham Quang Ngoc said Ninh Binh is the only place in Vietnam to possess "double" UNESCO titles: Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, a mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage of the World.

He hoped that delegates will share experience and visions on specialised mechanisms to unlock and mobilise resources for heritage conservation and development.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc said localities with UNESCO-recognised heritage are facing many challenges, the greatest of which is how to reach harmony of economic development and heritage conservation.

He proposed that participants shared success stories of localities in promoting UNESCO titles to serve sustainable development, which will provide valuable lessons for localities in the process of building UNESCO nomination dossiers or seeking additional UNESCO titles.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said that with its vast and diverse cultural and natural resources, Vietnam has won UNESCO's recognition for eight world cultural and natural heritages, 15 intangible cultural heritages, nine documentary heritages, three global geoparks, and 11 world biosphere reserves. 

He noted that many UNESCO-recognised cultural heritage items have become well-known tourist attractions, contributing to local development, citing statistics that in 2019, over 18.2 million visitors visited world heritage sites in Vietnam, generating revenues of 1.8 trillion VND (over 76.3 million USD at current rate). 

Vietnam is focusing efforts on realising the global goal of enhancing protection of UNESCO-recognised heritage, he said, affirming that protection and promotion of heritage's values in connection with sustainable development of tourism is also an important solution to turn tourism into a spearhead industry of the country. 

The two-day event will feature three sessions, focusing on the practices of promoting UNESCO titles for sustainable development in Vietnam, international experiences and resources for the effort.

Translated by Nguyen Thuy