Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung. (Photo: VNA) Rome (VNA) – Vietnam – Vatican relations have seen new positive progress, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung.
Talking to Vietnam News Agency reporters in Rome on the occasion of the visit by President Vo Van Thuong to the Vatican on July 27, the ambassador said that in meetings of the Pope and the Vatican's officials with Vietnamese representatives, the Holy See side assessed that the two sides' relations were developing positively, and expressed their wish to further promote the relations with Vietnam in the coming time.
He noted that on the occasions of the last Christmas and New Year 2023, high-ranking leaders of Vietnam for the first time sent congratulatory messages to Pope Francis, and the Pope also asked the Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy to convey his Christmas and New Year greetings to leaders and people of Vietnam.
Recently, at the 10th-round meeting of the Vietnam - Vatican Joint Working Group, the two sides basically agreed on the content of regulations for the Holy See’s Resident Representative and Resident Representative Office in Vietnam, the ambassador said, stressing that the result is especially significant after 14 years of negotiations.
He added that Vietnam and the Vatican are taking the final steps to approve the regulations, thus lifting the bilateral relationship to the level of permanent representative soon.
According to the diplomat, the Vatican side is always willing to arrange exchanges and working programmes between Vietnamese delegations and the Holy See's competent agencies.
The latest one was the meeting between Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council Pham Van Linh and the Vatican representatives in June this year. In addition, the Holy See also regularly sends representatives to participate in activities organised by the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy, which contributes to strengthening the relationship between the two sides.
During his visit to the Vatican, President Vo Van Thuong is expected to meet Pope Francis and the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Ambassador Hung assessed that the positive development of the Vietnam-Vatican relationship over the past time is in line with the wishes and aspirations of both sides.
In Vietnam, the Catholic Church and over 7 million parishioners will have better conditions in performing their religious practice following Vietnamese law, and in the spirit of "good Catholics are good citizens", Ambassador Hung said, noting that this is also an important premise for the two sides to continue to work together to further their relations in the coming time.
Regarding the potential for cooperation between Vietnam and the Vatican, the Ambassador said that the two sides are actively preparing to officially upgrade the relationship to the level of the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam. This is considered to be a new historic step in their bilateral relationship, as well as an important premise to open up a new phase in which cooperation potentials between Vietnam and the Vatican will be exploited and promoted./.
