Quang Nam (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuꦰan Phuc haspraised the central province of Quang Nam for its efforts to preserve the world heritage sites of Hoi An ancient town and My Son Sanctuary inthe 20 years since their recognition by the UNESCO.

The PM was speaking at a ceremony in My Son Sanctuary to celebrate the20th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of Hoi An and My Son as World Heritage sites in 1999. The PM said the two heritage sites, along with the world biosphere reserve site of the Cham Islands in the province, are typical samples of the heritage preservation and biodiversityconservation in Vietnam and the world. He noted that Quang Nam is a rare locality in Vietnam obtaining two world heritages and a world biosphere reserve site. The PM also urged state agencies and Quang Nam to boost sustainabledevelopment of the world heritage sites, while preserving the naturalenvironment and enhancing plastic wastemanagement. Phuc also expressed his respect for the contribution of the late Polish archaeologist and architect KazimierzKwiatkowski, known as ‘Kazik’, and international organisations as well as the governments of Italy, India and Poland in the preservation of theworld heritage sites over the past 20 years. Situated in a peaceful valley surrounded by mountains, the My Son Sanctuary has been well preserved since it was builtthousands of years ago during the prosperous development of the Champa Kingdombetween the 4th and 13th centuries. The ruins are now a popular destinationbecause of their cultural relevance and architectural features. The ancient town of Hoi An still preserves itscultural values as a busy trading port dating back 400 years. The Cham Islands-Hoi An World BiosphereReserve, which covers over 33,000ha including Hoi An, has 1,500ha of tropical forests and 6,700ha of sea featuring a widerange of fauna and flora. Speaking at the ceremony, a representative of UNESCO, Michael Croft, highlighted that President Ho Chi Minh issue Decree 65 on November 23, 1945, which called forthe immediate protection of cultural and historic relics, demonstrating that  the President understood theimportance of the country’s cultural identity to the movement for independenceand freedom. “The Government and the Vietnamese people have continued to respect hisvision and the result of their efforts, is what celebrate today. The beautifulSanctuary of My Son, which once lay inruin, has become one of the best examples in monument restoration in SoutheastAsia, providing us a fascinating glimpse into the political and culturalhistory of the region. And we find this same sense of shared history expressedin the international collaboration to restore the site, in the closecooperation between Vietnam and friendly countrieslike France, India, Italy and Poland and many other partners. UNESCO is proudto have been part of this process, and highlight it as best practice,” Croft said.

Quang Nam hosted 6.5 million tourists, of which Hoi An was a favourite destination of 5 million visitors, last year. -VNA