WASHINGTON - The United States announced Wednesday that it had reached agreement with Vietnam, whose prime minister will make a historic visit to Washington next month, on religious freedom.
John Hanford, the US ambassador at large for international religious freedom, said the agreement "addresses a number of important religious freedom concerns" and that more talks would be held when Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick visits Hanoi on Friday.
"In recent weeks, Vietnam has banned the practice of forced renunciations or coerced renunciations of faith. They've released a number of prominent prisoners of concern, and they've begun to register and to permit the reopening of churches that had previously been closed," Hanford told a press briefing.
"Most importantly, Vietnam has also enacted significant legislative reforms that hold the promise of major improvements in religious freedom in the near future."
Hanford said: "The commitments made by the government of Vietnam result from our work over the past several years to advance religious freedom in that country."
But he added: "While these commitments offer a strong foundation, other important steps remain to be taken, and the United States will continue to monitor developments in Vietnam closely."
Vietnam's Prime Minister Phan Van Khai announced earlier Thursday he would visit the United States at the end of June, the first such trip by a top leader of the communist country since the end of the war in 1975.
05/05/2005 18:05 GMT