Vietnam will have a resident Vatican representative office established in Hanoi.

The information was released at the 9th Vietnam-Holy Sea Joint Working Group co-chaired in Hanoi on April 22 by Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski, Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States.

Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc (R) and Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski, Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States in Hanoi on April 22. Photos: MOFA

The delegations agreed upon issues relevant to raising, in the near future, the level of relations between Vietnam and the Holy See from a non-resident to a Resident Pontifical Representative, in line with the elevation of the ties. 

However, the timing of the upgrade was not mentioned. The apostolic nuncio in Singapore is the non-resident representative of Vietnam.

The in-person meeting, the first since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, marked in-depth discussions on the relations between the two sides and issues concerning the Catholic Church in Vietnam.

The relations between Vietnam and the Holy See have recently developed, notwithstanding the Covid-19 containment measures. Frequent and cordial exchange of ideas has always occurred.

The Holy See follows with interest the Catholic community's deep and vibrant life in the country and encourages the Catholic Church in Vietnam to contribute to the country's common good and prosperity, as the Catholic community demonstrated concretely during the pandemic's most critical periods by volunteering in hospitals and assisting the needy.

The two parties agreed that relations between Vietnam and the Holy See should be maintained on mutually agreed-upon principles and fruitful dialogue, with the objective of consolidating trust and strengthening relations in the common interest of the two parties and the Vietnamese Catholic community.

They agreed that the 10th meeting of the Joint Working Group will be held in the Vatican at a date to be determined.

During the time in Hanoi, the Holy See delegation also paid a courtesy call to Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and visited some of the other authorities. They plan to meet with members of the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference at their plenary meeting in the coming days.

Overview of the 9th Vietnam-Holy Sea Joint Working Group held in Hanoi on April 22.

Vietnam has the 5th largest Catholic population in Asia, after the Philippines, India, China, and Indonesia, with around 7 million people or roughly 7% of the country’s total population.

Vietnam has stressed that the Party and the State of Vietnam consistently abide by and improve laws and policies towards respecting and ensuring citizens’ right to freedom of religion and beliefs.

At the same time, Vietnamese authorities said that the State always pays attention to the needs of the Vietnam Catholic Church and creates favorable conditions for the activities of the Vietnamese Catholics.

In 2016, the Vietnamese National Assembly adopted Law on Religion and Belief, regulating rights to free religious practices and obligations of religious followers.