YANGON, 24 June 2014: Myanmar on Monday welcomed the designation of its ancient Pyu kingdom cities as a UNESCO world heritage site, marking its first entry onto the UN cultural agency’s prized list.

From AFP via TTR Weekly

An annual World Heritage Committee meeting in Doha on Sunday granted endangered status to the remains of the cities of Hanlin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra in the country’s Irrawaddy basin.

“We are happy. We all worked hard to make this happen for a long time,” Daw Me Me Khaing, director of the archaeology department at Myanmar’s culture ministry, told AFP.

Inclusion on the list has significant economic implications as a World Heritage Site is eligible for financial assistance toward preservation, while the status is a powerful draw for tourists.

Read the full article here: Myanmar Welcomes World Heritage Status

Further reading here from The Myanmar Times: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/10808-ancient-pyu-cities-attain-world-heritage-status.html