The PM made the statement on January 8 at his reception to Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Roman Curia Ivan Dias, who attended the closing ceremony of the Catholic Church of Việt Nam Jubilee Year 2010 at the La Vang parish in the central province of Quảng Trị as ambassador of Pope Benedict XVI.

The result of Cardinal Dias’ current visit would make practical contributions to the fine development of cooperative relations between Việt Nam and the Vatican, said PM Dũng.

The PM affirmed the wish of not only the Vietnamese State but also its Catholic church and parishioners to continue developing its fine cooperative relationship with the Vatican.

Việt Nam is a country with 54 ethnic groups and all major religions, including Catholicism, Protestanism and Muslim, in the world are present in the country, said the PM, adding that Việt Nam has its two own religious, namely Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo.

The Vietnamese Party and State has pursued a consistent policy of unity, equality and mutual assistance among ethnic groups and religious to jointly build a prosperous and civilized nation. The Vietnamese Party and State always create favorable conditions for ethnic groups and religious to develop in an equal manner and in accordance with the law, he emphasized

Việt Nam always considers the Catholic followers as its inseparable part and creates favorable conditions for them to conduct their religious activities and well perform citizens’ rights, benefits and tasks in line with the laws, he said.

For his part, Cardinal Ivan Dias expressed the hope that each Vietnamese parishioners would live the gospel amidst the nation and be good and exemplary citizens in abiding by the laws.

He conveyed best wishes from Pope Benedict XVI to the Vietnamese Party, State and people and affirmed the Vatican’s goodwill and strong wish to promote its cooperative relations with Việt Nam.

The Vatican is implementing many charitable, medical, educational and other activities in various nations worldwide and hopes to receive Việt Nam’s active support and cooperation in the fields, he said./.