The request was made at a conference on February 23 between the agency and the Hanoi Party Committee, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the UNESCO representative in Vietnam.

At the conference, experts noted that the site management work should be unified under an agency as recommended by UNESCO, suggesting that the Ministry of Defence should transfer the remaining area of the site that is under its management to the agency soon.

They also asked the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences to hand over the archaeological findings during its research to Hanoi.

For the central sector of the citadel, it is necessary to soon relocate the former building of the Department of Operations, as it is blocking the space of Kinh Thien Palace, the core of the citadel.

According to experts, research should be made to restore Kinh Thien Palace using 3D technology first before proceeding with the physical restoration.

For the archaeological zone at 18 Hoang Dieu, researchers called on the agency to take measures to preserve the zone in the long term as the current shelter system has degraded.

They also called for the timely relocation of houses built within the Co Loa Citadel to the north of the city centre and suggested building a temple dedicated to Ngo Quyen in Co Loa to honour the hero who restored Vietnam’s independence in the 10th century.

Speaking at the conference, Hanoi Party Secretary Vương Đình Huệ praised the Thang Long Citadel management agency for promoting the value of the imperial citadel while calling for greater efforts to accelerate the conservation projects.