General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm (right) and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. VNA/VNS photo

NEW YORK – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in New York on September 22 (local time) on the sidelines of the United Nations Summit of the Future and the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

At the meeting, the two sides highly evaluated positive progress in relations between Việt Nam and the Vatican, notably the Vatican’s Resident Papal Representative in Việt Nam and the Office of the Resident Papal Representative in Hanoi began operations in 2024.

Lâm thanked Pope Francis for his sympathy and encouragement to the Vietnamese people to overcome the consequence of typhoon Yagi.

The top leader highly appreciated the fine sentiments that the Pope and the Secretary of State have reserved for Việt Nam and stressed that the country has created favourable conditions for pastoral visits by the current Resident Papal Representative and the non-resident special envoy in the past.

Lâm highly evaluated the messages, teachings and letters sent by the previous Popes and Pope Francis to the Catholic community in Việt Nam, which highlighted the spirit of “good Christians and good citizens” and encouraged the Vietnam Catholic Church to contribute to the national life, for the interests of the whole nation in the sprit of dialogue and cooperation.

Parolin recalled his good impression of Việt Nam during his previous visit and affirmed that the Vietnam Catholic Church always wants accompany the country’s development in the spirit of sincerity, responsibility and trust.

The two leaders held that maintaining the exchange of high-level delegations and the meetings of the Việt Nam-Vatican joint working group has played an important role in promoting mutual respect and understanding.

Parolin affirmed that the Vatican’s Resident Papal Representative has actively cooperated with Việt Nam and Pope Francis wants to visit Việt Nam soon, thus helping to promote connections between the Vatican and the Vietnam Catholic Church and further enhance the relations between the Vatican and Việt Nam. VNS/VNS