Myanmar President U Win Myint has urged people in the country to strive for promoting Myanmar's cultural heritage to the world and elevate the dignity of the country.
Honoring individuals and organizations who worked for ancient city of Bagan to be named as one of the world's cultural heritage sites of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday, U Win Myint also urged for more cultural sites such as Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Mrauk U in Rakhine state and Padah-Lin Cave in Taunggyi, Shan state to be named as Myanmar's world heritage sites.
Management for the sustainability of Bagan's ancient heritage, prevention of natural disaster, tourism development plans and social development measures have been adopted together with a management scheme for public participation in line with the law, he said.
He expected that other countries could join hands with Myanmar for the preservation of Bagan cultural heritage which will become a legacy of future generations.
He assured of an increase in the number of tourists in the Bagan region to help boost the economic development of the local people and task people with a responsibility to preserve Bagan.
In the honoring ceremony, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi said the ancient civilization of central Myanmar has been an inheritance for this generation and it was also a hub of the diversity of culture, people and ideologies of the world.
The World Heritage Committee of the UNESCO announced in its 43rd session held in Baku, Azerbaijan on July 6 the enlisting of Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan as a world heritage site.
The announcement came five years after Myanmar's three other ancient Pyu cities, Hanlin, Beikthano and Sri Kestra, won the designation in 2014.
Lying in Myanmar's central Mandalay region, the Bagan Ancient Cultural Zone, home to more than 3,000 ancient pagodas and religious edifices, has been in existence for more than 1,000 years. Buddhism has been practicing in Myanmar since the Bagan era in the ninth century.
