Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung. (Photo: VNA) Rome (VNA) – Vietnam – Vatican relations haveseen new positive progress, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung.
Talking to Vietnam News Agency reporters in Rome on theoccasion of the visit by President Vo Van Thuong to the Vatican on July 27, theambassador 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, andexpressed their wish to further promote the relations with Vietnam in thecoming 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 VietnameseAmbassador to Italy to convey his Christmas and New Year greetings toleaders and people of Vietnam.
Recently, at the10th-round meeting of the Vietnam - Vatican Joint Working Group, the two sidesbasically agreed on the content of regulations for the Holy See’s ResidentRepresentative 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 arrangeexchanges and working programmes between Vietnamese delegations and the HolySee's competent agencies.
The latest one was the meeting between Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council Pham Van Linh and the Vatican representativesin June this year. In addition, the Holy See also regularly sends representatives toparticipate in activities organised by the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy, whichcontributes to strengthening the relationship between the two sides.
During his visit to the Vatican, President Vo VanThuong is expected to meet Pope Francis and the Vatican’s Secretary of StateCardinal Pietro Parolin.
Ambassador Hung assessed that the positive development ofthe Vietnam-Vatican relationship over the past time is in line with the wishesand aspirations of both sides.
In Vietnam, the Catholic Church and over 7 millionparishioners 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 premisefor the two sides to continue to work together to further their relations inthe coming time.
Regarding thepotential for cooperation between Vietnam and the Vatican, the Ambassador saidthat the two sides are actively preparing to officially upgrade therelationship to the level of the Permanent Representative of the Holy See inVietnam. This is considered to be a new historic step in theirbilateral relationship, as well as an important premise to open up a new phase inwhich cooperation potentials between Vietnam and the Vatican will be exploitedand promoted./.
