HANOI, April 12 -- Vietnam has invited Pope Leo XIV for a historic visit to the South-east 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 yesterday 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 workin...