Ngo Dong Hai, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization, presents a souvenir to Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. Photo: Thanh Tuan/VNA
Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Do Hung Viet, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, and representatives of the UN Committee on Information also attended the meeting.
Hai praised the UN's role in promoting international cooperation on information, communications and digital governance. He said Vietnam placed strong emphasis on ensuring equal access to information, advancing inclusive digital transformation and expanding internet infrastructure, particularly in remote and disadvantaged areas, so that all people could benefit from scientific and technological advances.
He noted that the rapid development of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), had created significant opportunities while also posing challenges related to ethics, information security, fake news and misinformation, which could undermine public trust.
Addressing these issues requires coordinated efforts by countries, international organisations and technology companies, he said.
Reaffirming Vietnam's active participation in international efforts to build a safe, healthy and responsible cyberspace, he highlighted that Vietnam's hosting of the signing ceremony for the UN Convention against Cybercrime, known as the Hanoi Convention, in October 2025, reflected the country's commitment to promoting multilateral cooperation in addressing challenges in the digital sphere.
Hai called for stronger cooperation and experience-sharing to ensure information transparency and reliability, narrow the digital divide and respect cultural and linguistic diversity. He also stressed the importance of ensuring that developing countries have equitable access to the benefits of digital transformation.
Fleming, for her part, praised Vietnam's achievements and contributions in digital transformation, expanding access to information and international cooperation, including its active engagement in the UN Committee on Information.
The UN official outlined initiatives including the Global Principles for Information Integrity and the Global Digital Compact. She stressed the need to develop and use AI safely and responsibly, while strengthening capacity to deal with fake news, misinformation and information manipulation.
She expressed her desire to continue working with Vietnam, particularly through the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, to advance shared goals in information, communications and inclusive, sustainable digital development./.
