Hanoi (VNA) – Ghada Fathi Waly, United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has affirmed that the agency will closely cooperate with Vietnam to successfully organise the signing ceremony for the UN Anti-cybercrime Convention (also known as the Hanoi Convention) and to encourage countries to ratify it.
Waly made the statement during a meeting on April 16 with Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang, Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna, Austria, to discuss preparations for the signing ceremony, which is set to take place in October in Hanoi.
During the meeting, Ambassador Hoang said that Vietnam's relevant authorities, both at home and abroad, are urgently coordinating with UN agencies to thoroughly prepare this important global event. He expressed appreciation and gratitude to the UN, particularly the UNODC, for its support and partnership with Vietnam in preparing the signing ceremony. Both Vietnam and the UN hope that the signing will attract significant interest and participation from high-level representatives of UN member states.
After five years of negotiations, the Convention is the first international legal framework with a global scope concerning anti-cybercrime, approved by UN member states. This reflects the strong commitment of the international community to jointly respond to transnational organised crime, particularly the rapidly evolving and complex cybercrime that poses threats to global security.
Hoang invited Waly to arrange meetings with Vietnamese authorities responsible for crime prevention, and to consider signing and implementing subsequent cooperation projects between Vietnam and the UNODC when she is in Hanoi for the signing ceremony.
The outcomes of Waly's visit to Vietnam will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the two sides and promote Vietnam's contributions to the international community's efforts to combat crime.
Waly highly valued Vietnam’s responsible contributions throughout the process of drafting the Hanoi Convention and recognised Vietnam's preparations for the signing ceremony. She said the UNODC believes in the success of the signing, marking an important milestone and demonstrating Vietnam’s strong commitment to combating crime.
The UN official also expressed her hope that after the signing, Vietnam will continue to work closely with the UN in general and the UNODC in particular to promote the ratification and effective implementation of the convention in the international community./.
