The Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga made the statement on October 28 while answering questions from the media about Vietnam’s response to the department’s assessment on religious freedom in Vietnam stated in the report. 

“Vietnam follows a consistent policy of respecting its citizen’s freedom of belief and of religion,” she said, adding that these freedoms “are inscribed in Vietnam’s Constitution and safeguarded in practice.” 

“The fact that religions are growing robustly in Vietnam and Vietnamese people are leading an enriched religious life is strong evidence of religious freedom in the country,” the spokesperson said. 

The International Religious Freedom Report 2009 covers 198 countries and territories worldwide.