Expeditiously prepare the nomination dossier for the Oc Eo - Ba The Archaeological Site to be submitted to UNESCO for World Heritage recognition.

(An Giang Provincial E-Portal) - On the morning of November 7th, Provincial Party Committee member and Vice Chairman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee, Le Van Phuoc, chaired a meeting to hear a general report on the activities of the Oc Eo Cultural Relics Management Board and a report on the progress of the nomination dossier for the Oc Eo - Ba The Archaeological Site to be submitted to UNESCO for recognition as a World Heritage Site.

The scene at the meeting.

Representatives from relevant departments and agencies; members of the Steering Committee for the construction of the scientific dossier of the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological site in An Giang province; Contractor No. 3 - responsible for preparing the nomination dossier and management plan, including the consortium of the Institute of Conservation of Monuments - Center for Applied Research in Geology, Heritage and Environment - University of Social Sciences and Humanities; My Thuan commune and Oc Eo commune also participated.

The Oc Eo - Ba The culture is an important archaeological culture of the Funan Kingdom, which flourished from the 1st to the 7th centuries AD in the lower Mekong River region (Vietnam). The Oc Eo - Ba The site in An Giang is a crucial center of this culture, once a bustling city and port with numerous traces of architecture, urban life, religion, and international trade. This site has been classified as a Special National Monument and is currently in the process of preparing a dossier to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a World Heritage Site.

According to the Oc Eo Cultural Relics Management Board, the Board conducted a public tender to select the contractor for packages 3, 4, and 5. Currently, Package 5 has completed 100% of its tasks and disbursed funds for the demarcation and protection of the Oc Eo - Ba The National Special Relic Site. For Package 4, which involves communication, propaganda, and promotion of the relic site, a documentary film has been completed, and news reports are being developed for broadcast on national and international television, as well as the creation of commemorative publications; the nomination dossier for the World Heritage Center in Paris, France, is being prepared in 2025. Package 3 involves preparing the nomination dossier and management plan for the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological site. The province organized an international scientific workshop: Consultation on “Outstanding Universal Value and Criteria for Nominating the Oc Eo - Ba The Archaeological Site as a World Heritage Site”, and simultaneously worked with central ministries and agencies on issues related to the site's nomination dossier. The total estimated budget for implementation is VND 36,865,007,000, of which VND 36,418,760,000 comes from the provincial budget and VND 446,247,000 from social contributions.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nhien, Director of the Oc Eo Cultural Relics Management Board, reported on the Board's activities and the progress of the nomination dossier for the Oc Eo - Ba The Archaeological Site to be submitted to UNESCO for recognition as a World Heritage Site at the meeting.

Mr. Dang Khanh Ngoc, Director of the Institute of Conservation of Monuments, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, reported on the progress of preparing the dossier at the meeting.

In the coming period, the Oc Eo Cultural Relics Management Board will continue to revise and finalize the nomination dossier based on feedback from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, other central ministries and agencies, and the National Council for Cultural Heritage. It will receive the preliminary assessment report from the World Heritage Center on the draft nomination dossier and continue to revise it according to the feedback. A scientific workshop will be organized to gather opinions from domestic experts to further refine the nomination dossier (scheduled to be held in Hanoi on November 24, 2025). The finalized nomination dossier will be submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for appraisal and then presented to the Prime Minister for approval to send it to the UNESCO World Heritage Center (aiming to complete this before December 15, 2025).

Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee Le Van Phuoc delivered the concluding remarks at the meeting.

Concluding the meeting, Vice Chairman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee Le Van Phuoc basically agreed with the report of the Relic Management Board and the consulting unit on the preparation of the dossier.

Looking ahead, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized that preparing the nomination dossier for the Oc Eo - Ba The Archaeological and Cultural Relic Site to be submitted to UNESCO for World Heritage recognition is a crucial political task for the nation in general and An Giang province in particular. Therefore, he requested the Oc Eo Relic Management Board, along with relevant departments, agencies, and consulting units, to make every effort to support the project and ensure the quality of the nomination dossier.

The Oc Eo Relic Management Board should promptly reorganize its Executive Board and Support Team, assigning specific tasks to each member. As the investor, the Management Board needs to strengthen close coordination with relevant ministries, departments, and localities, proactively addressing difficulties and obstacles. If the issues exceed its authority, it should promptly report to higher levels for consideration and resolution. It should also lead and coordinate with relevant departments to develop detailed daily and weekly progress plans based on the "six clear" principles: clear person, clear task, clear time, clear responsibility, clear product, and clear authority. Furthermore, it should promote public awareness campaigns to gain the consensus of the people in Oc Eo and My Thuan communes.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee agreed to organize working groups from An Giang province to work with central ministries and agencies to gather opinions on submitting the official nomination dossier to UNESCO. A working group will also be organized to study the experience of the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiet Bac World Heritage Site in Quang Ninh province to exchange experiences in working with the UNESCO delegation, defending the nomination dossier, and managing the conservation of the heritage site after its inscription as a World Heritage Site.

Source: https://angiang.gov.vn/vi/khan-truong-thuc-hien-ho-so-de-cu-khu-di-tich-khao-co-oc-eo-ba-trinh-unesco-cong-nhan-di-san-gioi