Administrative documents signed by the Nguyen kings (1802-1945) have received the certificate of the Asia-Pacific Region's Memory of the World Programme.— VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tung

HA NOI (VNS) — Administrative documents signed by the Nguyen kings (1802-1945) have received the certificate of the Asia-Pacific Region's Memory of the World Programme.

Stored at the National Archives Centre No 1, the documents have been accorded heritage status by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The documents, numbering nearly 200,000 pages, include those on laws, decrees, edicts and instructions for resolving problems in various fields such as politics, military affairs, foreign affairs, economy, society and culture.

A display showcases Nguyen Dynasty imperial records at the headquarters of the Ministry of Home Affairs' National Archives Department. The imperial records were granted a UNESCO certificate of the Asia Pacific Region's Memory of the World Programme yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tung

Among these valuable documents are also those that affirm Viet Nam's sacred sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.

This is the fourth Vietnamese entry to be registered in UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme so far. The other three Vietnamese entries are the steles in Ha Noi's Temple of Literature which record the names of noted contemporary doctors, blocks made of wood of the Nguyen Dynasty, and a collection of wooden blocks carved with Buddhist sutras at the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Giang.

The documents are a valuable resource for studying history, culture and the feudal court's activities as well as Viet Nam's society during the reign of the 11 Nguyen emperors in the 19th century, said experts. — VNS