Việt Nam's Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm (left) meets with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay at the organisation’s headquarters in Paris, France on October 7. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

PARIS — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm on October 7 paid an official visit to UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris and held a discussion with its Director-General Audrey Azoulay, as part of his attendance at the 19th Francophonie Summit and official visit to France.

Meeting Azoulay, Việt Nam's top leader acknowledged the organisation’s crucial role in sustaining global peace and security, and promoting sustainable development via fostering multilateral cooperation in education, culture, science, information, and communications.

He expressed his gratitude for UNESCO’s nearly five decades of collaboration with and support for the Southeast Asian nation, as well as his delight at the sound progress recorded in the two sides’ cooperative relations.

He thanked Azoulay for her official visit to the country in September 2022, when she attended the 35th-anniversary celebration of UNESCO’s 1987 resolution honouring late President Hồ Chí Minh as a hero of national liberation and an eminent cultural figure of Việt Nam. The Party and State leader also extended his thanks to UNESCO for its assistance concerning a dossier on preserving and promoting the values of the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel, and several others involving Việt Nam's nominations for UNESCO recognition.

The Party General Secretary and President shared the country's remarkable achievements of historical significance during nearly 40 years of đổi mới (Renewal), affirming that in the new era - the era of Việt Nam's rise, the country will continue its intensive and extensive integration to make more contributions to the maintenance of peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

The leader emphasised that Việt Nam, as a member of several important mechanisms within UNESCO, will continue to promote its role as an active and responsible member. He said he will authorise relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies to engage in detailed discussions with UNESCO in order to make the cooperation between Việt Nam and UNESCO more substantive and effective in the future. He also extended an invitation for the UNESCO Director-General to return to Việt Nam for a future visit.

Audrey Azoulay expressed her great honour and joy at welcoming the top leader of Việt Nam to the UNESCO headquarters for the first time while highlighting nearly 50 years of cooperation with the Southeast Asian country.

She emphasised that Việt Nam is one of the most active members of UNESCO and applauded the strong commitments and positive contributions to the organisation.

Commending Việt Nam's socio-economic achievements, Azoulay described its post-war miraculous development as a model for many other nations.

She also spoke highly of Việt Nam's policy of being a friend with all countries and its efforts in preserving the traditional culture and national identity during the development process.

The UNESCO official also highlighted Việt Nam's leading role in heritage preservation and promotion, and pledged to support the country in seeking the UNESCO recognition for its heritage, preserving its world heritage sustainably, and developing cultural industries.

The UNESCO Director-General also committed to enhancing cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation in education, science, information, and communications in the time ahead.

On this occasion, Lâm and Azoulay visited a photo exhibition featuring Việt Nam's cultural heritage and UNESCO examples. The event was jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Permanent Mission of Việt Nam to UNESCO.

They posed for commemorative photos as SOVICO Group signed a cooperation agreement with UNESCO on supporting the organisation’s activities in Việt Nam that aims to promote sustainable tourism and cultural creativity, and VinUniversity of Việt Nam's conglomerate Vingroup inked another with UNESCO on establishing the first UNESCO-sponsored research and training centre in Việt Nam, which will be located at the university’s campus. — VNA/VNS