The diplomat made the statement at a promotional event on Ha Long Bay held in Ha Long city on March 9, where the international community was called on to vote for Ha Long Bay as a new natural wonder of the world.

Ha Long Bay and two other areas in Viet Nam, the Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto and Fansipan mountain, are competing with more than 200 candidates to be included in the seven new wonders of the world.

Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been leading votes on the website www.new7wonders.com in the past two weeks.

NewOpenWorld launched the competition and first phase of voting in August 2007. Voting will close on August 8 this year and the number of competing regions will be reduced to 77 sites.

The second phase will take around six months, of which 21 sites will be selected. The best seven among these candidates will then be nominated.

The bay, whose name means “Descending Dragon”, has been recognised by UNESCO twice as World Natural Heritage site.

Covering more than 430sq.km, Ha Long Bay is dotted with nearly 800 limestone islands rising spectacularly from the sea.

The bay is known for its diverse geographical features such as a unique system of caves formed by encroaching water.

It is also home to a diverse ecological system of mangrove forests, tropical forests and coral reefs inhabited by more than 1,000 species of fish and marine animals.