Securing 121 of the 171 valid votes, Vietnam ranked second among the nine elected states from five regions, according to the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The election took place within the framework of the 24th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) in Paris. This is the second time Vietnam has been elected to the most important executive body for culture of UNESCO. It will join 20 other member states of the committee to supervise the implementation of the convention, protect, preserve, and bring into play the values of 1,199 world heritage elements around the globe./.