VHO - The Oc Eo Cultural Relic Management Board has just held a conference to deploy the work of building a dossier to nominate the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological relic site in An Giang province, to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a World Cultural Heritage. The conference took place on the afternoon of April 21, in Oc Eo town, Thoai Son district, An Giang province.

The Oc Eo Cultural Relic Management Board has just held a conference to deploy the work of building a dossier to nominate the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological relic site in An Giang province, to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a World Cultural Heritage. The conference took place on the afternoon of April 21, in Oc Eo town, Thoai Son district, An Giang province.

The Oc Eo Cultural Relic Management Board held a conference to deploy the task of preparing a dossier to nominate the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological site to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a World Cultural Heritage.

Speaking at the Conference, Mr. Nguyen Khac Nguyen, Deputy Head of the Oc Eo Cultural Relic Management Board, said: The preparation of the dossier to nominate the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological site for UNESCO recognition as a world cultural heritage was directed by the Party Central Committee, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since 2012 and 2013.

However, it was not until 2021 that the Prime Minister had an official conclusion, assigning the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to guide An Giang province to preside over the construction of the dossier.

With the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, the National Cultural Heritage Council and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, the summary report of phase 1 of the dossier was completed and by April 1, 2022, the Oc Eo - Ba The relic site was officially included by UNESCO in the Tentative List of World Cultural Heritage dossiers.

After a lengthy preparation process, the project outline and construction budget were approved by the end of 2024. The bidding procedures for the packages have been completed and the implementing units have been selected.

At the conference, the Monument Management Board announced that the joint venture of the Monument Conservation Institute - Center for Applied Geology, Heritage and Environment Research - University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU-HCM) is the official contractor to win package No. 3: "Preparing nomination documents and management plan for the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological site in An Giang province to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a World Cultural Heritage".

Ms. Tran Thi Minh Hue, Deputy Director of the Institute for Monuments Conservation, said that the bidding package will be implemented from April 2025 to January 2026. The work includes investigation, survey, systematization of documents, additional excavation, construction of a map of the distribution of the monument and analysis of materials and artifacts... to clearly determine the outstanding global value of the monument.

The conference is also an opportunity for the parties to agree on tasks, sign contracts and implement detailed plans with a commitment to complete on schedule according to the urgent direction of the Prime Minister and An Giang province.

According to the Management Board of Oc Eo - Ba The Cultural Relics, An Giang province strives to complete and defend the dossier to request UNESCO to recognize the Oc Eo - Ba The Archaeological Relic as a World Cultural Heritage by 2026. This is an important step in the effort to preserve and promote the unique historical and cultural values ​​of the Oc Eo - Ba The Relic to the world.

The Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological site is located in Oc Eo town, Thoai Son district, An Giang province, about 40km from Long Xuyen city. The site covers an area of ​​433.2 hectares, including two main areas: Area A on the slopes and foot of Ba The mountain (143.9 hectares) and Area B in Oc Eo field (289.3 hectares).

This relic site has about 40 cultural relics of various types: religious architectural relics, burial relics, residential relics... discovered, explored and excavated from the early 1940s to the present.

The Oc Eo - Ba The relic site is an archaeological complex reflecting the vestiges of an ancient urban area and religious center of the Kingdom of Phu Nam. Domestic and international research shows that this area once flourished and was an important international trade and cultural exchange hub in history.

The preparation of the dossier to nominate Oc Eo - Ba The as a World Cultural Heritage is a strategic step, demonstrating the determination of An Giang province and Vietnam in preserving and honoring the unique historical and cultural values ​​of the Southern region, bringing the image of Oc Eo culture to the world.