Ngô Đông Hải, deputy head of the committee's Commission for Publicity, meets UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tuấn

NEW YORK — Ngô Đông Hải, member of the Party Central Committee and deputy head of the committee's Commission for Publicity, met with Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, on Tuesday (local time) during his working visit to the United States.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Đỗ Hùng Việt, Permanent Representative of Việt Nam to the United Nations, and representatives of the UN Committee on Information also attended the meeting.

Hải praised the UN's role in promoting international cooperation on information, communications and digital governance. He said Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam's active participation in international efforts to build a safe, healthy and responsible cyberspace, he highlighted that Việt Nam'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.

Hải 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 Việt Nam'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 Việt Nam, particularly through the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Việt Nam, to advance shared goals in information, communications and inclusive, sustainable digital development. — VNA/VNS