Vietnam, Vatican agree to upgrade relations

A joint working group agreed at its latest meeting in Hanoi that in the near future relations would be upgraded to the level of residential representatives in both Hanoi and Rome, a Vatican statement said on Friday.

This would be one step short of full diplomatic relations with ambassadors, which have been the stated aim of the talks since they began in 2009.

There are about seven million Catholics in Vietnam out of population of about 97 million. Most Vietnamese practice folk religions or Buddhism.