Vietnam is making progress in promoting freedom of religion and belief, said Michael Lewis Cromartie, vice president of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in Ho Chi Minh City on May 15, Cromartie said he was impressed with the number of new places of worship and religious establishments.

He said during the visit to Vietnam, the US delegation had frank and useful meetings with Vietnamese agencies and understands that Vietnam wants to broaden religious freedom and has exerted a lot of efforts to prove this. However, he added that there are some aspects that need to be improved.

Cromartie and four other members of the USCIRF delegation returned to HCM City after a visit in 2007, to learn about religious activities in Vietnam.

On May 15, they met with HCM City authorities to discuss religious issues of concern. The Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee, Huynh Thi Nhan, said that like the Vietnamese Government, provinces and cities, including HCM City, have paid a lot of attention to executing consistent policies to ensure the freedom of belief and non-belief of people, the right to practise religion as well as equality between religions.

She stressed that in HCM City as well as other localities, religions have no conflict, live peacefully together and actively take part in economic development, humanitarian activities and other public movements.

At present HCM City has 8 religions and 27 religious organisations. Half of the city’s 4.3 million people are religious followers.

VietNamNet/VNA