Vietnam is ready to closely coordinate with the Republic of Congo in UNESCO mechanisms.

On June 5, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Nguyen Minh Vu received Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko, former Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for African Priorities and External Relations, Ambassador, candidate for the position of Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the 2025-2029 term.

Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu and Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko.

At the reception, Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu emphasized that Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with the Republic of Congo. Both 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 2024. Both are colonial countries, and both countries understand the value of peace , unity, independence and freedom of the nation.

Affirming that the Republic of Congo always values ​​the traditional relationship, friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko assessed.

Vietnam is one of the priority partners of the Republic of Congo in Asia and expressed agreement with the assessments of bilateral relations made by Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu. He said that it is necessary to continue to tighten the good traditional relationship and enhance cooperation between the two countries in many fields.

Sharing his understanding of President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap as Vietnamese celebrities with world influence, symbols of national independence and contemporary wisdom, he said that the images of President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap are always preserved in the hearts of many generations of Congolese people and African countries.

He expressed his honor and emotion that every time he returned to Hanoi, he was "returning home", "returning to his homeland Vietnam", and said that his mother was originally from Thuy Khue street, Hanoi, and his father was Congolese.

Promoting Vietnam-Republic of Congo cooperation at UNESCO

At the reception, Permanent Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu highly appreciated the role and positive contributions of the Republic of Congo at UNESCO in the fields of conservation and promotion of the values ​​of world cultural and natural heritages, education for sustainable development, and environmental protection.

Regarding the candidacy for the position of UNESCO Director General, the Permanent Deputy Minister welcomed and highly appreciated the vision that " UNESCO needs to continue to be a prestigious multilateral forum, promoting and strengthening international cooperation in education, natural sciences, social sciences, culture and information and communication" . UNESCO's prestigious mission of " building peace in the minds of people " needs to continue to be implemented effectively and substantially, calling for the spirit of international solidarity, mutual respect, and dialogue for the common development of humanity. This is also a viewpoint that is consistent with Vietnam's current development orientation.

The Permanent Deputy Minister highlighted the role of UNESCO as a common home of human intelligence, the Organization's contributions to maintaining peace, security and promoting sustainable development in the world through promoting multilateral cooperation in education, culture, science, information and communication; at the same time, thanked UNESCO for its support, companionship and cooperation over the past 50 years, and was delighted with the good developments in the good cooperative relationship between Vietnam and UNESCO.

In particular, General Secretary To Lam's visit to UNESCO headquarters in October 2024 affirmed that Vietnam, as a member of many important mechanisms within UNESCO such as the Executive Council, the World Heritage Committee, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, will continue to promote its role as an active and responsible member at UNESCO to enhance the substantive and more effective cooperation between Vietnam and UNESCO in the coming time, in the new era, the era of the Vietnamese nation's rise.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Vu highly appreciated Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko's positive contributions to the relationship between Vietnam and UNESCO, such as the capital Hanoi being recognized by UNESCO as a City for Peace in 1999 and a UNESCO Creative City in 2019. Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko's valuable experiences will certainly contribute substantially and effectively to promoting the strengths of UNESCO.

At the reception, Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko emotionally shared that Vietnam is his second homeland, his mother's hometown is Thuy Khue, Hanoi Capital, as well as the image of President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap are always present in the hearts of many generations of Congolese people and African countries.

Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko said that UNESCO needs to pay special attention to supporting member states to protect their interests in implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and in the areas under its competence. To effectively and substantially implement and achieve these goals, UNESCO needs to refine and innovate its working methods to improve the effectiveness of institutional solutions and actions, adapting to current issues. The UNESCO Secretariat needs to play a bridging role, promoting and strengthening cooperation with member states, the private sector as well as civil society organizations.

Appreciating Vietnam's foreign policy and its active and proactive participation in multilateral mechanisms, he said that Vietnam is a country rich in unique historical and cultural traditions. At UNESCO, Vietnam has known how to take advantage of and exploit its strengths, promoting the value of 72 titles recognized by UNESCO in Vietnam, including 8 world cultural and natural heritages, 15 intangible cultural heritages, 4 global geoparks, 11 world biosphere reserves, 5 global learning cities, 3 UNESCO creative cities, etc.

According to him, the Vietnamese Government has been affirming its pioneering role in the region, gradually realizing the goal of developing a green economy associated with environmental protection. He was particularly impressed when visiting Ninh Binh city, where the Policy Consultation Meeting between the Heads of Representative Offices of UNESCO in the Asia-Pacific region was successfully held in October 2024, as well as visiting the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex - where the local community directly benefits from its inscription as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 2014.

Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Nguyen Minh Vu and Mr. Firmin Edouard Matoko took a photo together at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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 Council, 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 work with Vietnam to build a Memorandum of Understanding on Vietnam-UNESCO cooperation for the period 2026-2030, continue to promote and enhance the cooperative relationship between UNESCO and Vietnam in all fields of education, science, heritage, innovation and climate change adaptation, contributing to the common success of the era of the Vietnamese people's rise.

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 organization's new Director-General.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/viet-nam-san-sang-phoi-hop-chat-che-voi-cong-hoa-congo-trong-cac-co-che-cua-unesco-316733.html