India helps My Son-Cham tower complex restoration
India will provide Vietnam with US$3 million to help the country restore the deteriorating My Son-Champa towers, according to a seminar between the two nations in Danang City on Tuesday, reports Nguoi Lao Dong.
Themed ‘Champa civilization, the connection between Vietnam and India’, the seminar is to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties and fifth anniversary of the strategic relationship of Vietnam and India. It was jointly hosted by the Indian Embassy in Vietnam, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
At the seminar, scholars and experts shared the view that relics of the Champa culture show the close relationship with India and that the Cham towers and brick sculptures there are timeless monuments of the broadening cultural exchange between the nations, they noted.
Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae said the Indian Government will finance Vietnam with US$3 million to preserve and restore the Champa civilization in My Son, which is recognized as a world heritage by UNESCO. The restoration will be carried out by the Indian institute of archaeological research.