A Vietnamese delegation paid a working visit to the US from October 10-22 during which Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang called on both sides to increase constructive dialogue to clarify religious issues and avoid misunderstandings that may impact bilateral relations.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency after the trip, Thang said that in late 2022, the US Department of State placed Vietnam on the Special Watch List regarding religious freedom. The move was based on biased assessments and inaccurate information about the freedom of religion and belief in Vietnam.

During the trip, the two sides openly shared information, discussed the problems, and expressed their wish to maintain and develop the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Vietnamese delegation met with Melissa Brown, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs; Robert T. Koepcke, Director of the Office of Mainland Southeast Asia at the US Department of State; and Rashad Hussain, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, to clarify differences in human rights and religious affairs.

The delegation gave updated details about the US cases of concern, and asked the US to provide timely information via official channels, including the Vietnamese Government’s Committee for Religious Affairs, according to Thang.

At the meetings, he noted, the delegation provided information on erroneous views on religions in Vietnam. It demanded the US not use one-sided information provided by  Vietnamese reactionary individuals and organisations living in exile in the US.

The Deputy Minister proposed both sides to increase dialogue in the constructive spirit and with respect for international law and each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political regimes. The aim is to not let misunderstandings affect the bilateral relations. By increasing communication, the partners can enhance mutual understanding, overcome differences, and promote the implementation of the agreement on the Vietnam - US comprehensive strategic partnership.

At the working sessions, the US side noted Vietnam’s achievements in ensuring the freedom of religion and belief. Local officials also asked the delegation to provide detailed information about the enforcement and amendment of the Law on Religion and Belief and the decree guiding the implementation of this law. This is especially important at the grassroots level and in remote areas. It is also important to ensure guidance of religious organisations to register religious activities, land related to places of worship, and the protection of the right to concentrated religious practices.

Thang said the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) perceived that Vietnam should change its approach so that the US can understand objective information about Vietnam. BGEA President Franklin Graham said he is ready to serve as a “religious ambassador” of Vietnam to explain to US politicians and organisations and promote the removal of Vietnam from the Special Watch List.

During the visit, the delegation also had meetings, roundtable discussions, and seminars with individuals and leaders of religious organisations in the US, Professor Cole Durham, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington DC and San Francisco.

The visiting officials also had working sessions with the World Evangelical Alliance office in the United Nations, President of Foreign Service Fellowship International Ken Welborn, the Archbishop and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, and some Evangelical presbyterians in San Rafael, San Francisco, he said.

The Vietnamese delegation reviewed religious freedom to update the US Department of State toward the removal of the country from the Special Watch List.

Thang went on to say that Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, noted Vietnam’s achievements in ensuring the right to freedom of religion and belief, and highlighted the recent progress in the relations between Vietnam and the Holy See.

Caccia offered congratulations on the adoption of the Status of the Resident Papal Representative and the Office of the Resident Papal Representative in Vietnam. He affirmed that as the representative of the Pope in the UN, he will support the removal of the country from the Special Watch List and help promote relations between Vietnam and the Holy See in the time ahead.

Aside from officials of some ministries and sectors, the Vietnamese delegation also included religious dignitaries with large numbers of followers in the country such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Caodaism, Protestantism, and Islam. The religious figures informed the US side on the freedom of religion and belief in Vietnam. They also refuted biased information on the religious situation in Vietnam and the terrorist attacks in Dak Lak province on June 11, 2023, according to the Deputy Minister./.VNA