Vatican:

Pope Francis stated his intention to visit Vietnam during a meeting with a delegation from the country's Communist Party. The discussion in the Vatican was regarded as "very positive" by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See's foreign minister.

He also said that he will be visiting Vietnam in April and that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will most certainly visit later this year. The encounter symbolizes an improvement in bilateral ties between Vietnam and the Catholic Church after the news in July that Vietnam will allow a Resident Papal Representative to return to Hanoi for the first time since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

Vietnam broke ties with the Vatican when communists took over the nation, citing the Catholic Church's longstanding ties to France, the previous colonial authority. Vietnam has roughly 7 million Catholics out of the 95 million, accounting for around 6.6% of the total population.

The Vatican believes that ties with Vietnam will continue to improve and seeks to promote more religious freedom in the nation. The Vietnamese government has rejected criticism from organizations like the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis has repeatedly voiced gratitude for Vietnam and its efforts toward dialogue with the Church. In 2016, Pope Francis met with the then President Tran Đại Quang, his final visit with a Vietnamese head of state.

The Vietnamese government has given the Holy See's ambassador in Vietnam, Archbishop Marek Zalewski, permission to visit the country. It was decided in 2022 to create a permanent office in Hanoi, which has now become possible, reestablishing the Holy See's position in Vietnam over 50 years after the communist regime expelled the apostolic delegate.