Held every 12 to 18 months by the Council of Europe, the event constitutes one of the biggest and finest platforms of exchange in cybercrime, gathering experts from more than 100 countries, international organizations, private sector and academia.
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A view of the Octopus Conference 2025 on combating high-tech crimes (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |
At the opening plenary session, Ambassador Vu shared information about the new U.N. Convention against Cybercrime, known as the Hanoi Convention, and announced the signing ceremony will take place in the Vietnamese capital city on October 25-26.
The diplomat laid stress on the significance of the Hanoi Convention, particularly to the Asia – Pacific, to handling legal gaps in international cooperation against rapidly increasing global cybercrime. He stated that the convention, designed to complement the Budapest Convention and open to all countries, will establish a common legal framework to promote responsible behavior in cyberspace, enabling countries to cooperate more effectively in combating high-tech crimes.
Beyond legal significance, the signing ceremony, Vu said, will feature high-level discussions, side events, and an exhibition, creating a dynamic forum for dialogue and practical experience sharing to accelerate the convention’s entry into force and ensure its effective implementation.
He took the occasion to invite signatories to the Budapest Convention, regional and international organizations, and relevant non-governmental organizations to the ceremony, demonstrating their determination to work together for a safe, just, and law-governed digital future.
Experts from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOCD) and the European Commission, and Microsoft affirmed the compatibility between the two conventions which facilitate experience sharing, particularly capacity-building activities and 24/7 cooperation models.
On the conference sidelines, Vu had meetings with Ghana's Minister of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Guatemala's Deputy Minister of Interior, Malaysia's Deputy Director-General of the National Cyber Security Agency, and delegation heads from Nigeria, Australia, and France to discuss high-tech crime issues. Vu also extended invitations to high-level representatives from the countries to the signing ceremony. In response, the countries expressed strong interest in, saying they are completing procedures to send delegations to Vietnam for the event.
Source: VNA