Hanoi (VNA) – A Vietnamesedelegation 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 increaseconstructive dialogue to clarify religious issues and avoid misunderstandings that may impact bilateral relations.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agencyafter the trip, Thang said that in late 2022, the US Department of State placedVietnam on the Special Watch List regarding religious freedom. The move wasbased on biased assessments and inaccurate information about the freedomof religion and belief in Vietnam.

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

The Vietnamese delegation met with Melissa Brown, Deputy Assistant Secretaryfor the Officeof Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs; RobertT. 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 viaofficial channels, including the Vietnamese Government’s Committee for Religious Affairs,according to Thang.

At the meetings, he noted, thedelegation provided information on erroneous views on religions in Vietnam. It demanded the US not useone-sided information provided by  Vietnamese reactionary individuals andorganisations living in exile in the US.

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

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

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

During the visit, the delegation also had meetings, roundtable discussions, andseminars 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 SanFrancisco.

The visiting officials also had working sessions with the World EvangelicalAlliance office in the United Nations, President of Foreign Service FellowshipInternational Ken Welborn, the Archbishop and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, and some Evangelical presbyterians in SanRafael, 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 ArchbishopGabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, noted Vietnam’sachievements in ensuring the right to freedom of religion and belief, and highlightedthe recent progress in the relations between Vietnam and the Holy See.

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

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