As part of cultural diplomacy efforts for development, Vietnamese Ambassador to Pakistan Pham Anh Tuan held a working session with Pakistan’s Minister of Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi to assess potential and discuss measures to enhance mutual understanding and promote connections between localities. In particular, the two sides focused on promoting cooperation in the fields of culture and tourism between Viet Nam and Pakistan.
At the meeting, Pakistan’s Minister of Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi emphasised the importance of preserving and promoting the values of Pakistan’s unique cultural heritage - an ancient civilisation with Buddhist Gandhara relics and UNESCO-recognised sites.
Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi introduced prominent heritage sites, such as the Stupa tower in Islamabad, conveyed an invitation to the delegation to visit, experience, and collaborate in developing spiritual tourism tours combined with adventure tourism in high mountain regions, contributing to enhancing people-to-people exchanges and local economic development.
Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi expressed his wish, through the Embassy of Viet Nam in Pakistan, to connect and invite Vietnamese art troupes to participate in the annual cultural event “Lok Mela–Lok Virsa Folk Festival” held in Islamabad, which attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees. This would enhance the promotion of each country’s diverse culture and that of the international community in Pakistan.
Congratulating Aurangzeb Khan Khichi on his recent appointment as Federal Minister in charge of Heritage and Culture, Ambassador Pham Anh Tuan expressed deep impression when visiting the museums in Taxila, Lahore, and Swat, which preserve precious Gandhara Buddhist relics–the cradle of Buddhism that spread to Central Asia, China, and northern Viet Nam.
Ambassador Pham Anh Tuan highly appreciated the cultural similarities between the two countries, especially in Buddhist heritage, which serves as a cultural bridge contributing to fostering understanding and connections between the peoples of both nations.
“With the close cooperation between the Ministry of Heritage and Culture of Pakistan and the Embassy of Viet Nam in Pakistan, the two sides can effectively implement exchange programmes, organise cultural festivals, and carry out heritage management training projects, especially promoting tourism development to meet the increasing needs of the people of both countries,” Ambassador Pham Anh Tuan emphasised.
On this occasion, representatives of the Embassy of Viet Nam in Pakistan also proposed the implementation of specific cooperation programmes, such as signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the leading museums of the two countries, promoting cultural exchange programmes, organising folk culture festivals, as well as training for sustainable heritage tourism management. Accordingly, Viet Nam is ready to share experience in heritage preservation and cultural tourism development to generate economic benefits for local communities.
