Laos and its partners will continue restoring and sustainably preserving many ruined structures at the Vat Phou UNESCO World Heritage site in Champasak, Laos.
The pre-Angkor ruins combine aspects of Khmer architecture and the Hindu religion dating to the 7th and 12th centuries.
Director of the Champassak provincial Information, Culture, and Tourism Department, Mr Bouathong Souvannasan, stressed the combined commitment to preserve the site during the 6th International Coordination Meeting.
The meeting was hosted by the World Heritage Site Office in cooperation and attended by experts from Korea, India, France, and Laos.
Vat Phou temple was dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva and is one of the most significant architectural sites anywhere in Southeast Asia, built more than 500 years before Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.
Vat Phou was inscribed by UNESCO on the list of World Heritage Sites in 2001. However, Mr Bouathong said it will require a lot more work to preserve and restore the temple ruins.
Speaking at the meeting, Korean Ambassador to Laos Shin Sung-soon said conservation and restoration of the Vat Phou complex were progressing well when he visited the site in May.
For detailed information on the Vat Phou UNESCO World Heritage Landscape, click here.
