Vietnam is ready to closely coordinate with Egypt in UNESCO mechanisms.

Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu welcomed Mr. Khaled El-Enany to visit Vietnam on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of national reunification and the upcoming birthday of President Ho Chi Minh. (Photo: Thanh Long)

At the meeting, Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu emphasized that Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with Egypt - an important partner country in the Middle East - Africa region. The two sides were pleased with the positive developments in bilateral relations in recent times, especially in the context of the two countries celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in 2023.

The Deputy Minister recalled President Ho Chi Minh’s meaningful visits to Egypt, along with his close ties with Egyptian revolutionaries and progressive intellectuals at that time. Those meetings not only contributed to laying the foundation for friendship between the two nations, but also reflected the broad vision and international solidarity of President Ho Chi Minh – one of the pioneers calling for solidarity between peace-loving, independent and freedom-loving nations in the world.

Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu proposed a number of specific measures to promote bilateral cooperation such as increasing delegation exchanges at all levels, promoting cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation between localities such as Hanoi - Cairo, Ninh Binh - Luxor; expanding cooperation in training high-quality human resources and in-depth research in areas where Egypt has strengths such as archaeology, artifact conservation, sustainable tourism, etc. as well as promoting economic and trade relations.

Affirming that Egypt always attaches importance to the traditional, friendly and multifaceted cooperation relationship with Vietnam, Mr. Khaled El-Enany assessed Vietnam as one of Egypt's priority partners in Asia and expressed agreement with the proposals to enhance cooperation raised by Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu.

According to Mr. Khaled El-Enany, it is a great honor to visit Vietnam on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of national reunification and the upcoming birthday of President Ho Chi Minh - the great leader not only of Vietnam but also especially respected by the Egyptian people. He shared that President Ho Chi Minh is a symbol of national independence and contemporary wisdom, and his image is always preserved in the hearts of many generations of Egyptians and Africans.

In his position, he will continue to promote cooperation between the two countries in areas of mutual interest, especially culture, education and tourism - areas in which he has strengths and wishes to contribute to further developing bilateral relations in the international arena.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu hopes to expand cooperation in training high-quality human resources and in-depth research in areas where Egypt has strengths such as archaeology, artifact conservation, sustainable tourism, etc. (Photo: Thanh Long)

Promoting Vietnam - Egypt cooperation at UNESCO and sharing the viewpoint "UNESCO for people"

Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu highly appreciated Egypt's role and positive contributions to UNESCO, especially in the fields of heritage conservation, education, digital transformation, climate change and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Regarding his candidacy for the position of UNESCO Director General, Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu expressed his welcome and appreciation for the vision of “ UNESCO for people ” proposed by Mr. Khaled El-Enany – taking people as the center, aiming for peace, inclusiveness, dialogue, respect for cultural diversity and sustainable development. This is also a viewpoint that is consistent with Vietnam’s current development orientation.

The Deputy Minister affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the role of UNESCO as a common home of human intelligence, a place to promote peace, international cooperation and connect global values. Vietnam is ready to closely coordinate with Egypt in the Organization's mechanisms, aiming to enhance cooperation in priority areas such as education and training, education for peace, green education, as well as science, technology, innovation, tourism development associated with protecting natural resources, the environment, preserving and promoting national cultural values.

For his part, Mr. Khaled El-Enany expressed his honor and emotion when setting foot in Vietnam for the first time - a country rich in historical traditions, unique culture, many world heritages recognized by UNESCO and a friendly, hospitable people. He was especially impressed when he directly visited the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Ngoc Son Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda - typical relics reflecting the depth of culture, spirituality and identity of the Vietnamese people over many centuries.

He assessed Vietnam as one of the most active, proactive and outstanding contributors to UNESCO, not only in key management mechanisms such as the Executive Board, the World Heritage Committee, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, but also in the practical implementation of UNESCO programs at the national and local levels. If elected, he hopes to continue promoting cooperation between UNESCO and Vietnam in many fields, including education, science, heritage, innovation and climate change adaptation.

He also expressed his wish to strengthen cooperation between UNESCO National Commissions, especially between Egypt and Vietnam - two countries with long-standing civilizations and are moving towards sustainable development based on culture and knowledge.

Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu and former Minister Khaled El-Enany take a souvenir photo. (Photo: Thanh Long)

The election of the Director-General of UNESCO for the 2025-2029 term is scheduled to take place at the 222nd Session of the UNESCO Executive Board in October 2025 in France. The election results will be submitted to the UNESCO General Conference for official approval at the 43rd Session, scheduled to be held in November 2025 in Uzbekistan. Vietnam is currently one of the 58 member states of the UNESCO Executive Board and has the right to participate in the vote to select the new Director-General of the Organization.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-san-sang-phoi-hop-chat-che-voi-ai-cap-trong-cac-co-che-cua-unesco-312118.html