In a meeting with evangelist Franklin Graham, a top Vietnamese government official committed to promoting religious freedom in his country amid a reported improvement in the climate for Christians in the communist nation.
In a statement Thursday, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) announced that Graham, its CEO and son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, met this week in North Carolina with Nguyen Dinh Khang, Vietnam’s minister of ethnic and religious affairs and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, as well as other high-ranking Vietnamese officials and three Vietnamese church leaders.
“In the years to come, the government of Vietnam, at all levels of administration, is committed to promote religious freedom," Khang was quoted as saying.
“In coming alongside citizens, we are trying to ensure that religious freedom is protected by our laws and to enhance the effectiveness of grassroots level policy implementation." According to the BGEA announcement, Khang described "open channels" established by the government in Vietnam allowing for religious minorities concerned about restrictions on their freedoms can share "ideas, recommendations, and needs." The Vietnamese delegation visited BGEA’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the group stopped in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to see firsthand the relief work of Samaritan’s Purse, an Evangelical aid charity Graham also heads. The charity has worked in Vietnam for over three decades to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief to hundreds of thousands of people. Graham responded to Khang’s pledge by reflecting on the progress Vietnam has made in the half-century since the end of the Vietnam War.
“I know relations with churches were difficult in the early days, but Vietnam has made great strides in improving religious freedom in recent years and I’m thankful we can discuss the continued importance of that