Officials from the Central Highlands Steering Committee paid apre-Christmas visit the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) inthe Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on December 22.

Deputy Head of the Steering Committee Tran Viet Hung praised theachievements of local Protestant dignitaries and parishionersthroughout the year which have shown their solidarity as well asconfidence in the leadership of the Party and State.

He wasalso delighted that they have worked hard to build a better life andhelp ensure social order and security in the area.

Furthermore, the official affirmed that the Party and Government alwaysrespect the freedom of belief and create favourable conditions for theProtestants to practice their faith without any restriction.

Protestants and secular people have equally benefited from the State’s preferential policies, he added.
He hoped all religions would continue joining hands to strengthen thenational unity that enables people to together build a life ofhappiness and prosperity.

Pastor Huynh Duy Linh, Head of theExecutive Board of the provincial Protestant Church thanked the Partyand State for supporting the development of religions in the countrygenerally and Protestantism particularly.

He stressed the support of local Protestant communities for the State’s current new rural development plan.
The same day, the committee paid a visit to Tien Son Church in Pleiku city of the province.

Gia Lai is home to four religions including Catholicism, Buddhism,Protestantism and Caodaism with a total of 270,000 followers, accountingfor 23.5 percent of its population. Protestantism alone has 120,000followers.-VNA