The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, conveyed today at the United Nations the willingness of the oldest European organisation to strengthen collaboration with Mozambican on cybercrime and artificial intelligence, after meeting with the President, Filipe Nyusi.
‘We have an excellent relationship with Mozambique in the Convention for the fight against cybercrime. We are willing to implement and develop these collaborations further,’ said Alain Berset, after his meeting with the Mozambican head of state, on the sidelines of the “Summit of the Future”, organised by the United Nations (UN), which kicked off today in New York.
Mozambique was one of the countries officially invited this year to join the European Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention, as previously announced by the Council of Europe.
This is an international treaty that addresses issues related to cybercrime and cyber security and was adopted by the Council of Europe in 2001, entering into force in 2004.
‘It was also a good opportunity for me to talk to the President [Filipe Nyusi] about the new convention on Artificial Intelligence and, I hope, also to develop some collaboration,’ added the secretary general of the organisation, which has 46 member states, including all the countries of the European Union.
Former Swiss Interior Minister Alain Berset was elected to the post this year and recalled that he had already visited Mozambique in previous roles: ‘I now have a new position, as Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and it was a great opportunity to follow the discussion on democracy, the rule of law and human rights. And I know that very soon there will be democratic elections [on 9 October] in Mozambique, which I think is a very important element in having a functioning democracy,’ he concluded.
The Mozambican President is in New York to take part in the ‘Summit of the Future’, organised by the UN and taking place until Monday, before the start of the organisation’s 79th General Assembly.
The Council of Europe is an international European organisation that works to defend human rights, democracy and the rule of law on the continent. It was founded in 1949 and is the oldest European institution in operation, with its headquarters in Strasbourg, France.
In addition to the countries of the European Union, it has 19 other members, including Switzerland, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
‘I think it’s a very important organisation, dedicated to democracy, human rights and the rule of law. And we are always in contact with all the countries and continents that work with us,’ concluded Alain Berset.
Lusa
