The meeting was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, and his Vatican counterpart, Monsignor Pietro Parolin.
During the meeting, Mr Cuong reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of respecting freedom of belief of its people and briefed his guest on recent developments of religion in Vietnam.
He expressed his hope that the Vatican would actively contribute to the lives of Catholics and solidarity between religions in Vietnam to help strengthen national unity and encourage the Vietnam Catholic Church to integrate more closely into the nation and make more practical contributions to its cause of national construction.
For his part, the Vatican dignitary acknowledged Vietnam’s efforts to implement its policies on freedom of religion and belief, as well as the recent positive progress in the country’s religious environment.
He expressed his wish that the existing issues concerning bilateral relations would be solved through goodwill and honest dialogue.
He affirmed the Vatican’s policy of respecting Vietnam’s independence and sovereignty, adding that the Catholic Church’s religious activities are never politically-minded.
The Joint Working Group discussed issues relating to the two sides’ relationship, including those pertaining to the Vietnamese Catholic Church.
The two sides recognised the encouraging developments in the relationship between Vietnam and the Vatican since 1990, and agreed that their first meeting was a new and important step towards this relationship. They both agreed to make a greater effort to enhance bilateral ties.
The Vatican delegation met with the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, and visited the Thai Binh and Bui Chu parishes, as well as several other cultural, historical and religious establishments in Vietnam.