Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang answers questions from the press at the regular press conference on the afternoon of May 18 (Photo: DK)

On May 18, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to a reporter's question asking for Vietnam's response to the 2022 International Religious Freedom Report of the US Department of State and the 2022 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang stated:

As a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country with a rich religious and belief life, the Vietnamese State has always consistently implemented a policy of respecting and ensuring the freedom of belief and religion, the right to follow or not follow a religion of the people, ensuring equality, non-discrimination on the basis of religion and belief, and protecting the activities of religious organizations by law. These rights are recognized in the 2013 Constitution, the 2016 Law on Belief and Religion and related legal documents and are guaranteed and respected in practice.

The 2022 World Religious Freedom Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the 2022 International Religious Freedom Report of the US Department of State, although recognizing some progress in promoting religious freedom in Vietnam and citing some official information from Vietnamese government agencies, still made subjective assessments based on unverified and inaccurate information about the actual situation in Vietnam.

Vietnam is willing to discuss with the United States issues of mutual concern in a spirit of frankness, openness and mutual respect on issues of difference, thereby contributing to promoting the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries.