Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc yesterday received a delegation from the Holy See, led by Under-Secretary for Relations with States Antoine Camilleri. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc yesterday received a delegation from the Holy See, led by Under-Secretary for Relations with States Antoine Camilleri, who is in Việt Nam to attend the seventh meeting of the Việt Nam-Vatican Joint Working Group.

The Prime Minister lauded the positive exchanges between Việt Nam and the Holy See over the years.

He said he believed the Việt Nam-Vatican Joint Working Group’s seventh meeting would mark important progress in relations between Việt Nam and the Holy See, satisfying the interests of both sides as well as those of the Vietnamese Catholic community.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government would continue to promote national unity and be consistent in respecting and ensuring the right to freedom of belief and religion of all people.

He appreciated the effective contributions of the Vietnamese Catholic community towards national development, underlining the Government’s policy of encouraging and facilitating religions.

The Prime Minister urged the Holy See to continue its work on guiding Vietnamese Catholics to engage in national development, contributing to promoting the image of the Việt Nam Catholic Church and fostering Việt Nam-Holy See relations.

For his part, Antoine Camilleri asserted that Pope Francis and the Holy See wanted to develop bilateral relations and encourage Catholic followers in Việt Nam to be good citizens and contribute to national development.

He said the Pope had always paid special attention to Việt Nam and wished the Việt Nam Catholic Church would make more contributions to national prosperity.

Camilleri thanked the Vietnamese Government for creating favourable conditions for the Vatican representative to work in the country, expressing his belief that the two sides will witness new developments in their relations.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Phúc conveyed Christmas and New Year greetings to Pope Francis and Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. He conveyed his warm welcome to Secretary of State Parolin to soon visit Việt Nam. — VNS