Hanoi ,  May 20(AseanAll)  — Viet Nam always pursues the consistent policy of respecting and guaranteeing citizens' right to freedom of religion and belief, and the right to follow or not follow any religion, said Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang on May 18.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang

According to Vietnamese government portal(VGP)，the Deputy Spokesperson made the point in reply to reporters’ queries about Viet Nam’s response to the U.S. Department of State’s annual Report on International Religious Freedom released on May 15, 2023 and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’s annual report on international religious freedom in 2023 at a regular press conference in Ha Noi on May 18.

She added that these rights are stipulated in the Constitution of Viet Nam, the Law on Belief and Religion 2016 and related legal documents; and are guaranteed to be respected in practice.

Although the reports of the USCIRF and the U.S.Department of State have noted some progress of Viet Nam in promoting religious freedom and cited official information of the Vietnamese Government’s agencies, they have presented subjective observations based on unverified and inaccurate information about the actual situation in Viet Nam, she added. 

The Deputy Spokesperson stressed that as having affirmed many times, Viet Nam stands ready to discuss with the U.S. over the issues of mutual concern in the spirit of frankness, openness and mutually respecting issues in which the two sides still have differences, thus contributing to promoting the Viet Nam – US comprehensive partnership.