The guest highly valued Vietnam’s preservation and protection of heritage as well as its progress in education development and coping with climate change. She said she hopes Vietnam will back UNESCO in the prompt signing of a cooperation deal with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

PM Dung highlighted that Vietnam will continue promoting all-around links with UNESCO and support its cooperation with ASEAN, including cooperation deals. 

He expressed his hope that UNESCO will back Vietnam’s dossiers seeking world heritage status, including Trang An scenic landscape complex in northern Ninh Binh province, Cat Ba tourism complex in northern Haiphong city, southern amateur singing and Nghe Tinh folk singing. 

Earlier, Bokova held talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam National UNESCO Commission. 

At a later press briefing, Bokova said UNESCO will help Vietnam improve managerial capacity and cope with new challenges in culture, education, heritage, climate change and the preservation of biosphere reserves. 

Bokova is in Vietnam from June 19-23 to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 2003 Convention on protecting world intangible cultural heritage and to review the implementation of the UNESCO–Vietnam agreement signed three years ago. 

During her stay, she will tour central Quang Nam province - the only locality with two world heritage sites and one world biosphere reserve, and take part in the opening ceremony of the Quang Nam Heritage Festival. 

She will also attend a ribbon cutting ceremony for Tower G, one of the most important structures inside My Son sanctuary restored with funding from UNESCO and the Italian Government.