'Hanoi Convention': Leverage for Vietnam to become a cybersecurity center

With the Hanoi Convention, this is the first time a global multilateral Convention in a field of great interest to the international community is associated with a place name in Vietnam.

In the digital age, cybercrime not only threatens the security, political stability, economy and social life of a single country, but is also a global threat. Vietnam always considers fighting cybercrime as one of the priorities in its national security policy, and actively participates with the international community in the fight against cybercrime.

That was the affirmation of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang at the international press conference on the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention) held on October 8.

Journey to promote the Hanoi Convention

In December 2024, the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted the Convention against Cybercrime and held a signing ceremony in Hanoi on October 25-26. The Convention sets out a legal framework for international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime, ensuring that member countries, especially developing and vulnerable countries, are supported and have improved capacity to deal with this type of crime.

On the afternoon of December 24, 2024 (New York time), the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime. (Photo: VNA)

The signing ceremony of the Hanoi Convention is considered an important milestone as Hanoi becomes the starting point for a global commitment to a transparent, secure and human-oriented digital future for the first time.

Looking back at the negotiation process and promoting the signing of the Convention, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang said that in 2019, the United Nations initiated the development of the Convention on Cybercrime, the first comprehensive document of the United Nations in this field.

From the very beginning, Vietnam has actively supported this important initiative of the United Nations.

Currently, the cyber security situation is becoming more complicated not only in Vietnam but also in other countries, causing non-traditional security risks, affecting the socio-economic development process. Therefore, promoting the signing ceremony received international support and consensus.

On September 22, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security, in coordination with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), co-organized the event "The Road to Hanoi: Opening Ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime - Honoring multilateralism for a safe digital future." (Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA)

Besides the advantages, the signing of the Convention also has certain difficulties, such as the complicated international context; competition and conflicts between countries that hinder the spirit of cooperation and finding a common voice; differences in the legal systems of each country...

During the years from 2022 to 2024, authorized by the President, the Vietnamese Government's Inter-sectoral Working Group, with the core being the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with relevant agencies, proactively and actively participated in all 8 rounds of negotiations of the Convention. On December 24, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted the Convention against Cybercrime.

With the motto of raising the level of multilateral diplomacy, Vietnam always determines to actively and proactively participate in shaping international legal frameworks to best ensure the interests of the country. That is the spirit and motto of our participation in the negotiation process of this Convention.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang speaks at an international press conference. (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+)

“We have contributed to the Convention's inclusion of basic principles, ensuring the common interests of all countries in cooperation against cybercrime, including: Respect for sovereignty, national independence, non-interference in internal affairs and compliance with international law,” said Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang.

During the negotiation process, Vietnam also took on the role of coordinator in negotiating a number of important provisions. Vietnam's active contributions received high support from the international community. As a result, we have a complete convention, ensuring compliance with Vietnam's national interests and legal framework.

To bring the Hanoi Convention into practice soon

To prepare for this particularly important diplomatic event, the Government assigned the Ministry of Public Security to take the lead, coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant ministries and branches in the organization. The preparation work has been carried out systematically and effectively, based on Vietnam's experience in organizing many international conferences, while complying with the requirements and regulations of the United Nations.

Panorama of the press conference. (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+)

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang, nearly 100 delegations from various countries have registered to attend, along with about 100 delegations of businesses, non-governmental organizations and international experts registered to attend the signing ceremony.

In addition to the opening and closing sessions, the program will have 1 plenary discussion, 1 signing session, 4 high-level discussions and 4 roundtable discussions, and a Technology exhibition jointly organized by the Vietnamese Government and the United Nations Secretariat. President Luong Cuong and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are expected to deliver important speeches at the opening session.

Emphasizing that the United Nations' selection of Hanoi as the venue for the signing ceremony and the Summit is a very special event, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Giang stated: This is the first time a global multilateral convention in a field of great interest to the international community has been associated with a Vietnamese location.

The fact that the name "Hanoi Convention" is mentioned in the text of the Convention reflects the recognition of Vietnam's contribution to the development of this document, thereby showing that hosting the signing ceremony is a concrete step to "affirm its position, demonstrate its responsibility" and promote the Vietnamese Government's cybersecurity initiatives. This event also takes place on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (October 24).

In his role as Head of the Steering Committee for the preparation of the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Public Security Pham The Tung said that the signing ceremony of the Hanoi Convention is not only a political-legal milestone of global significance, but also opens up a "golden opportunity" for Vietnam to attract international investment in the field of cyber security - a pillar of the security industry, of strategic and vital significance to the national digital transformation process.

“I believe that with the prestige of hosting the Convention signing ceremony and market potential and synchronous policies, Vietnam can absolutely make a breakthrough and become a leading center for investment, research and development of cybersecurity solutions in the region. The Hanoi Convention is an important lever to realize this strategic goal,” Deputy Minister Pham The Tung shared.

According to Major General Le Xuan Minh, Director of the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control, speaking. (Photo: Minh Son/Vietnam+)

To implement the contents of the Convention as quickly as possible, Major General Le Xuan Minh, Director of the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control (A05 - Ministry of Public Security) said that the authorities are in the process of reviewing relevant legal systems to ensure appropriate domestic requirements as well as the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime.

The A05 representative also expressed his hope that the Hanoi Convention would create a corridor and a new legal framework for countries to join hands in fighting cybercrime, sharing information and signs of crimes, coordinating investigations in handling crimes, handling assets obtained from crimes and extraditing criminals.

“We always want to build a cyberspace for countries around the world to use for the purposes of peace and common development,” said Mr. Le Xuan Minh./.

The official logo for the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention) was conceived based on the idea of ​​connecting Vietnam's cultural heritage with the global vision of a safe and sustainable cyberspace. The center of the logo is Khue Van Cac - an image closely associated with Vietnam's intelligence and cultural heritage - recreated in a modern graphic style. Surrounding it are lines simulating a shield and a digital network, converging stripes with a stylized star reminiscent of Vietnam, expressing the spirit of solidarity and proactiveness towards a common goal.

Not only showing global connectivity, with the image expanding like a borderless cyber security network, symbolizing the cooperation of countries, organizations and individuals for a safe digital environment, the logo has shown the symbolic images of the United Nations, the shield image on the logo of the Vietnam People's Public Security Force and Khue Van Cac. The overall logo and identity are highly symbolic, becoming a visual mark for an important event - the signing ceremony of the Hanoi Convention.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/cong-uoc-ha-noi-don-bay-de-viet-nam-tro-thanh-trung-tam-an-ninh-mang-post1069022.vnp