Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Heritage Preservation Ceremony

Friday, February 6th 0900rnHue Imperial CityrnrnGood morning. Thank you, Dr. Hai, for that warm introduction. It is my honor to be here today with you and your team from the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, as well as People’s Committee Chairman Cao and other leading figures in Hue.rnrnProtecting cultural heritage is not only about preserving past achievements, but also about telling our story to our children. My family is here with me in Hue because I want my son to understand what I learned almost 20 years ago- Vietnam’s heritage is a world treasure.rnrnVietnam’s cultural heritage tells the nation’s history, and an important part of that history was written here in Hue. The cultural treasures that we are working to preserve continue to inspire Vietnamese artists, architects, musicians, and poets. They also are visited by millions of tourists a year. I look forward to working with you all to achieve your goals for boosting sustainable development in the tourism sector.rnrnWe are also here today to celebrate the great partnership between the U.S. Mission to Vietnam and the people of Hue, who are dedicated to preserving this city’s tremendous cultural heritage. One year ago when Consul General Bitter joined you to launch a project to restore three altars from Trieu To and Thai To temples. Today we mark the completion of that project.rnrnWe have now turned our shared commitment to preserving the Imperial City into action on an even larger scale. Our multi-year partnership represents the largest cultural heritage preservation project the U.S. government has ever supported in Vietnam.rnrnRestoring Trieu To will take a lot of hard work on both sides, just as it took a lot of hard work to rebuild U.S.-Vietnam relations over the past 20 years. rnrnToday we can all see the results of the U.S.-Vietnam partnership: the United States is now Vietnam’s leading export market; there are nearly 17,000 Vietnamese youth studying at U.S. universities, including some of the smartest young people from Hue; American tourists increasingly want to come to Vietnam as they learn more about its rich history.rnrnI am honored that you have allowed us to be a partner in your efforts to preserving these important parts of Hue’s cultural heritage. The success we achieve here in Hue will be a powerful symbol of strong relations between the people of the United States and Vietnam for generations to come. Thank you.