An international alliance aimed at countering cross-border telecom and cyber fraud was established on Thursday.
Representatives from 46 founding countries, 34 observer countries and four international organizations, including the United Nations and Interpol, attended the inaugural conference in Lianyungang in eastern China.
Initiated by the Chinese government, this alliance is an intergovernmental organization designed to promote cooperation among law enforcement agencies in tackling transnational telecom and cyber fraud and related crimes.
Representatives from China and other founding members, such as Vietnam, Laos, Kenya, Cambodia, Pakistan and Russia, addressed the conference, while a representative from Interpol delivered a congratulatory message.
Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza noted that the alliance is crucial to fighting increasingly sophisticated and widespread online fraud, and called on member states to unite against these growing threats.
"Cyber-related crimes have become the priority for member countries of Interpol around the globe. This threat is growing in numbers; it's growing also in complexity. For the past two years, we saw in the usage of our tools and databases an increase of 55 percent that was reported by all the different member countries," said Urquiza.
"Initiatives such as the alliance that was announced today are absolutely key on the fight against those threats. It's a type of threat that requires collaboration, it requires coordinated approach, it requires countries to come together in the effort of facing the different aspects of it. It requires multilateralism, to be firm and to be active. And this is why Interpol sees the alliance as very good step towards facing those different challenges," he stressed.
Participants welcomed China's initiative to establish the International Alliance Combating Telecom and Cyber Fraud and recognized its significance in safeguarding global public security.
Ooch ChanNora, Under Secretary of State at Cambodia's Ministry of Interior, said China's move to bring cooperation to the global stage is of great significance, since no single country can tackle those challenges alone.
"As for the creation of this alliance against telecom fraud, I consider it highly significant that China took the initiative to launch it," said Ooch chanNora.
Participants issued a joint statement on the alliance's establishment, saying telecom and cyber fraud has become a global challenge requiring stronger international cooperation.
The alliance was formed amid growing global concerns over cyber-enabled fraud. A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that such fraud had caused losses of between 18 billion U.S. dollars and 37 billion U.S. dollars in Southeast Asia alone in 2023, with many schemes linked to organized criminal groups operating across borders.
China has in recent years strengthened law enforcement cooperation with over 30 countries, including Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Myanmar, to tackle cross-border telecom and cyber fraud, developing cooperation mechanisms and achieving results in joint efforts against these crimes.
China-initiated international alliance to combat telecom, cyber fraud established
