Vietnam welcomes the decision of the U.S. State Department to remove it from the list of "countries of particular concerns" on religious freedom, a local spokesman said Tuesday.

The decision on Monday is "a right decision which accurately reflects reality in Vietnam, in accordance with the principles in the Vietnam-U.S. relationship and positive progress in the bilateral ties during the past years, said Le Dung, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the past, frank and open dialogues about the matters of mutual concern, including religious issues, have promoted mutual understanding, he said.

"Vietnam's consistent policy is to respect and guarantee the right to freedom of belief and religion and the right to freedom of non-belief or non-religion of its citizen," he said, adding that many important legal documents have been enacted and executed to facilitate religious activities.

The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act of the United States requires that it designate as "countries of particular concerns" those whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief.

Source: Xinhua