HANOI, Vietnam, April 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Vietnam has invited Pope Leo XIV for a historic visit to the Southeast Asian country, according to state media, as diplomatic relations warm between the communist regime and the Vatican.

Tran Thanh Man, chairman of the National Assembly, presented the pope on Saturday with an "official invitation" from the General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Vietnam, To Lam.

Pope Leo XIV expressed his "sincere thanks," and his "wish to visit the Southeast Asian nation in the near future", the Vietnam News Agency reported.

He also said he hoped to "further deepen bilateral ties", it added.

Hanoi and the Vatican have not had official diplomatic relations since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, but a joint working group has been meeting since 2009 in an effort to restore relations.

The two sides made a breakthrough in 2023 by agreeing to a "Resident Papal Representative" for the communist nation.

Pope Francis, Leo XIV's predecessor, was also officially invited to visit Vietnam, and the Vatican's de facto foreign minister travelled there in the spring of 2024.

During his meeting with the pope, Tran Thanh Man said the two sides would continue "working toward elevating bilateral relations to a new stage of development for the benefit of the people and for global peace and prosperity", the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Vietnam has around six million Catholics, who make up roughly six percent of its population.

They have historically been perceived by the government as having close ties with former colonial power France.

Human rights groups have accused the country of restricting religious freedoms.