During three-day visit to Vietnam, he will meet with senior Vietnamese leaders, including Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong.

Vietnam and Australia are comprehensive strategic partners and close friends, with their relationship grounded in mutual strategic trust and understanding, the Embassy of Australia in Vietnam wrote in its media release.

In Hanoi, Thistlethwaite will discuss with President Cuong and Ministerial counterparts shared priorities under the Australia-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including enhancing cooperation under the Memorandum of Understanding on Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology Cooperation.

According to the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, Australia congratulated Vietnam on hosting the first UN Convention signed in the country, highlighting Vietnam’s active international engagement and commitment to multilateralism, which Australia is proud to support.

The UN Convention against Cybercrime is the first UN-endorsed instrument addressing cybercrime and is a significant step forward for the international community to work together. Australia’s signature to the Convention is a demonstration of its commitment to combating all forms of cybercrime.

Australia played an instrumental role in the negotiation of the Convention, advocating for new offences to address the significant harms caused by technology facilitated abuse such as the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and protecting children from online grooming and solicitation.

Vietnam sets up committee for UN Convention against Cybercrime signing ceremony

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed a decision establishing the steering committee for the Opening for the Signature of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention) and related events in Vietnam.