Vietnam’s Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs strengthened dialogue with the Vatican and Italy during a Sept. 20-25 visit, with talks focusing on religious affairs, cooperation and ties between Vietnam and the Holy See.

Vietnam is seeking to strengthen data systems and policy coordination as it reviews two years of efforts to implement the UN convention against racial discrimination and improve protections for ethnic minorities.

Vietnam has connected two groups of ethnic data and one religious category data group to the National Data Center as part of efforts to build and integrate specialized national databases. 

Vietnam’s Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs is stepping up digital transformation and public investment spending after completing 89 of 166 government-assigned tasks with none overdue.

Vietnamese priests and religious in the Vatican and Italy can serve as cultural and peace ambassadors, helping international communities better understand Vietnam, a government minister said during a visit to Rome.

Vietnam and Italy are moving toward a formal cooperation framework on religious and ethnic minority affairs, with the two sides agreeing to work on a memorandum of understanding.

Italy and Vietnam have maintained their international standing by staying true to their identities, Italian Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Valentino Valentini said.

Vietnam’s minister for ethnic and religious affairs met Vatican officials on September 22–23 to discuss Catholic life in Vietnam, dialogue and closer cooperation.

Vietnam and Russia have signed an agreement to deepen cooperation on ethnic affairs, including policy exchanges and joint activities in culture, science and education.

Vietnam and Russia have established a new cooperation framework to preserve minority languages, cultures and traditions while expanding people-to-people exchanges and intercultural dialogue.

Vietnam has set a Sept. 20 deadline to connect two priority ethnic minority datasets to the National Data Center, as authorities seek to ensure the information is verified, legally valid and ready for official use.

As part of the delegation accompanying General Secretary and President To Lam on his state visit to Russia, Minister Nguyen Dinh Khang held talks on September 8 with Stanislav Bedkin, Deputy Head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs.

Senior officials from Vietnam’s Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs joined students for the opening of the 2026-2027 academic year on September 5 at schools across ethnic minority, mountainous and border communities.

Vietnam and Sri Lanka are moving to deepen Buddhist and cultural cooperation, with both sides seeking to turn a newly signed memorandum into concrete exchanges, heritage projects and long-term ties.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs is finalizing a plan to create jobs, develop services and build sustainable employment links in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for 2026-2035.

Ahead of Vu Lan, Minister Nguyen Dinh Khang met Buddhist leaders in Hanoi, praising the Sangha’s work and the festival’s deep connection to Vietnamese traditions of gratitude.

Officials have been told to resolve technical and data bottlenecks quickly as Vietnam works to integrate its ethnic affairs and religious databases with the National Data Center by Sept. 20.

Vietnam's Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have agreed to deepen cooperation on digital transformation, sustainable development and support for ethnic minority communities.

Legal reform, digital transformation and stronger administrative discipline topped the agenda as Vietnam's Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs reviewed its July performance and mapped out priorities for August.