Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Under-Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski co-chaired the 11th annual meeting of the Vietnam – Holy See Joint Working Group in Hanoi on May 17.
At the meeting, Hang briefed participants on Vietnam’s socio-economic development situation, foreign and religious policies, highlighting Vietnam's consistent policy of respecting and ensuring people's right to freedom of religion and belief.
She affirmed that Vietnam's laws on religion have been increasingly improved, creating favourable conditions for religions, including the Catholicism, to operate and develop in accordance with the Constitution and laws.
Hailing the Catholic Church in Vietnam for its active role in charity activities, education, health care and vocational training, Hang hoped that the Vietnamese Catholic community would continue to follow the Pope’s teachings and messages on "living the Gospel in the heart of the nation" and "good Catholics are good citizens".
Wachowski, for his part, congratulated Vietnam on its recent achievements in socio-economic development and foreign affairs and expressed his delight at the development of the Catholic community in the country.
Pope Francis expected that the Catholic community in Vietnam will follow the direction of "goof Catholics are good citizens" and actively contribute to national life, he stressed.
Wachowski also affirmed that the Pope always pays special attention to Vietnam and wants to visit the country soon.
The two sides acknowledged the significant progress in Vietnam - Holy See relations since the previous meeting in March 2023. They agreed to increase the exchange of high-ranking delegations and meetings, maintain cooperation and dialogue mechanisms, and uphold the important role of the Vietnam - Holy See Joint Working Group.
Wachowski thanked the Vietnamese Government and authorities at all levels for creating favourable conditions for activities of the Resident Papal Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam.
The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang hosted a reception for Under-Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski, in which he highly evaluated the outcomes of the meeting of the Vietnam - Holy See Joint Working Group./.
