LookAtVietnam – Ha Noi celebrated the city’s 10th anniversary of being recognised as a City for Peace by UNESCO yesterday, October 27.

Thao stated that the capital city of 1,000 years was dynamically developing and working with international friends towards everlasting peace on earth, creating a stable ground for development, prosperity and integration.

In the last 10 years, Thao said the city had effectively improved the city’s infrastructure and made other changes to comply with UNESCO’s suggested standards. “The city preserved the values of both tangible and intangible cultures, and Ha Noi leads the nation in the number of universities, colleges and institutes, which also walked towards international standards.

Ha Noi had been sparing no efforts towards making the city truly a City for Peace and making it a friendly destination for international tourists,” Thao said.

Cuban Ambassador to Viet Nam Fredesman Turro Gonzalez, who has been living in Ha Noi for more than 20 years, also expressed his love to the city as his second homeland.

“Ha Noi today is making great efforts to deserve the title,” he said. “It has become an important city in Southeast Asia, having hosted and going to host important events during Viet Nam’s integration process into the region and the world, and contributing actively to the common struggle for peace in the world.”

Ha Noi has ties with 35 cities and capitals in the world. It also hosts many cultural and sports events such as APEC 14, ASEM5, many ASEAN high-level meetings. In the next two days, the city will host the Asian Indoor Games 3 with participants coming from 41 nations.

In 1999, Ha Noi was among the five cities presented with the “City for Peace” award by UNESCO to recognise its contributions to the struggle for peace, as well as its development that met the organisation’s standards of equality in the community, urban construction, living environment protection, culture and education promotion, and care for young generations.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News