UNESCO Director-General fostering greater collaboration with Viet Nam and One UN

Following earlier engagements in Ninh Binh Province on 24 August 2017, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova met with representatives of all concerned Committees of the UNESCO National Commission, led by H.E. Mr Le Hoai Trung, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the National Commission, to take stock of the current implementation of the UNESCO-Viet Nam Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for 2016-2020. Noting the satisfactory progress to day, Ms Bokova singled out the active engagement and support of the National Commission and relevant government agencies as having played a key role.

Following the meeting, Ms Bokova was hosted for an official dinner by the Minister of Education and Training Mr Phung Xuan Nha, where the two discussed emerging priorities and challenges in the education sector and potential areas for enhanced collaboration.

In recognition of the significance of the One UN context in Viet Nam, the Director-General visited the Green One UN House (GOUNH) in the morning of 25 August to meet with the UN Resident Coordinator and staff members of UNESCO and other UN Agencies. With the recent signing of the One Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021 between the Viet Nam Government and the UN and the relocation of the Organization's office within the GOUNH, the Director-General expressed her confidence that collaboration between UNESCO and other UN partners will be enhanced across a wide range of programming areas.

Concluding her two-day visit in Ha Noi, Ms Bokova met with H.E. Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Member of the Politburo, and President of the National Assembly of Viet Nam. In addition to reviewing overall bilateral cooperation, the meeting highlighted the importance of cooperation through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), noting the leadership of Viet Nam in the ASEAN and in the ASEAN-UNESCO Committee.

Over the course of these different meetings, Ms Bokova echoed UNESCO's role as an essential 'soft power' actor, helping brokering knowledge and helping craft innovative policies in areas identified by national authorities as crucial to the country's sustainable development.

For more information, please contact:

• Ms. Christine Hanna, Communications and Reporting Officer, UNESCO Ha Noi Office, at c.hanna(at)unesco.org, +84 02438500186