Vietnamese diplomat runs for UNESCO chief position

Vietnamese diplomat Pham Sanh Chau, head of Foreign Ministry's Culture and UNESCO Department, has been nominated for the director-general position of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the 2017-2021 tenure.

This is the first time a Vietnamese diplomat has run for an important position at the UN agency, reported state-run radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) on Wednesday.

The nomination was proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a recent meeting in Vietnam's central Da Nang City in the presence of representatives from some UN and other international organizations in Vietnam.

Pham Sanh Chau, born in 1961, was Vietnamese ambassador to Belgium and the EU from 2011 to 2014. He had engaged in many UNESCO education, culture and heritage activities, said VOV. Endit