At the meeting, PM Phúc acknowledged contributions by religious organisations to the nation, adding that religious organizations in Vietnam have promoted good moral and cultural values.

Several religious dignitaries have commended the meeting initiative.

Participating in the meeting, Priest Thomas Vũ Kim Long Vũ Kim Long, Director of the Donbosco vocational training college in Vinh Long province, said the meeting encouraged religious dignitaries to devote more to the cause of educating the youth. “Efforts by our Don Bosco brothers have been acknowledged and supported by the government”, he added.

Ven. Đào Như, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s chapter in Can Tho City cum Director of the Khmer Buddhist Institute in Can Tho said he was glad upon an invitation from the Government Committee for Religious Affairs to join the meeting with other religious dignitaries. He also informed that PM Nguyễn Xuân Phúc just joint Khmer people at the Chol Chnam Thmay Festival and visited the Khmer Buddhist Institute in April. 

According to Pastor Trần Thanh Truyện, the meeting has demonstrated that “the Prime Minister and the Government do respect, care and really listen to what religions say”, as it’s not easy to hold such a gathering of dignitaries of all religious organizations.

Ven. Trần Văn Huynh, Chairman of the Executive Committee of White Cloth Caodai Church from Kien Giang province said at the meeting “I’d like to add a voice in the cause of the national construction and defense”.  

On the other hand, the meeting was a great opportunities for religious dignitaries to share good experiences in social & charitable programs benefiting the disadvantaged and communities in localities across the country.

Ven. Hán Đô, Head of the Dignitaries’ Council of the Cham Brahmin community informed that “members of the Brahmin community have proactively engaged in the environmental protection”, such as producing solar power, using green energy and planting trees.

Ven. Phối sư Trần Văn Huynh shared that members of the White Cloth Caodai sect have been very active in building charitable houses for disadvantaged families, offering free transportation for poor patients, and providing free meals to the less fortunate. He also informed that the Caodai sect have contributed four billion VND to social-charitable programs for the year 2019, and provided over 1,000 meal sets to the poor each day in the seventh lunar month this year.

Priest Thomas Vũ Kim Long informed that the DonBosco vocational training center was alleviated to DonBosco Technical College in 2018 and the school currently takes care and provides vocational training to 300 students who are orphans, ethnic minorities and children from poor families.

At the meeting with the government’s prime minister, representatives of religious organizations have also put forward recommendations for religious organizations to contribute more to the country, especially in the fields of health, education, environmental protection and charity. 

According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Việt Nam has recognised and granted licences to 43 religious organisations belonging to 16 religions which have about 26 million followers, including nearly 56,000 dignitaries and more than 29,300 worship sites.

PTT