The Hanoi Declaration was considered to be among the most notable outcomes of the freshly-wrapped 14th Assembly of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) in Hanoi.

ASOSAI 14 wraps up, adopts Hanoi Declaration

Hanoi Declaration is ratified at second plenary session of 14th ASOSAI Assembly

The declaration, ratified in the second plenary session on September 22, conveys the message of implementing environmental auditing, sharing experience and knowledge among member SAIs, as well as strengthening technology in auditing.

According to General Secretary of ASOSAI 13 Choe Yong-gon, who is the head of Korean SAI, the ratification of the Hanoi Declaration shows the strongest messages and commitments of member SAIs on environmental auditing for sustainable development.

“Vietnam needs to lead and push the cooperation among member SAIs in order to effectively implement the goals of Hanoi Declaration as well as the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs),” he said.

Choe Yong-gon also praised Vietnam for successfully hosting ASOSAI 14, saying that the success of such an international event reflects the capability and reputation of Vietnam SAI in the international arena.

Likewise, the head of Malaysia SAI, Madinah Binti Mohamad, who is the Chair of ASOSAI 13, highlighted the success of ASOSAI 14, saying that it reflects active involvement of member SAIs in the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for sustainable development with 17 SDGs as its centerpiece.

She also praised the leadership of Vietnam SAI, which has been vividly demonstrated in the successful hosting of the event.

“I believe that under the leadership of Dr. Ho Duc Phoc, ASOSAI will further pursue its efforts to become the role model amongst regional groups to the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions,” said Madinah Binti Mohamad.

Meanwhile, the head of China SAI, Hu Zejun, underlined the need for member SAIs to further their cooperation in environmental auditing to ensure sustainable socio-economic development.

“China Government attached significance to environment protection. We have continuously updated methods, approaches and technology in the work to improve the quality of environmental auditing,” she said.

The head of China SAI, who is also the General Secretary of ASOSAI for the 2018 – 2021 term, said China SAI wishes to further cooperation with Vietnam SAI and other member SAIs to boost environmental auditing in the region as well as in the world.

Auditor General of the State Audit of Vietnam Ho Duc Phoc spoke highly of the consensus reached among the delegates to the 14th assembly on ratifying the Hanoi Declaration with the key message of environmental auditing for sustainable development.

“We bring up the initiative on environmental auditing, aiming to implement the UN’s SDGs,” Phoc said.

Vietnam has implemented 10 environmental audits in 2017, eight in 2018. The country plans to carry out another eight environmental audits in 2019, with focus on auditing waste import. The work has helped contribute to the environment protection as well as to the State budget collection.

“We look forward to learn experience and knowledge from other member SAIs, who are strong in environmental auditing so that we can establish a more relevant legal framework while improving our own capability,” Phoc said.

The ASOSAI Assembly, which is held every three years, is the venue for all heads of ASOSAI member supreme audit agencies to discuss and decide on major issues, necessary documents, regimes, and policies to achieve the association’s objectives and further its development. It also serves as a forum for sharing experience in the field of state audits.

The 14th ASOSAI Assembly took place from September 19 -22 in Hanoi.  The main sessions included the 7th Symposium, technical-level meetings of the Secretariat and Committees, Working Groups, and the 52nd and the 53rd Governing Board meetings.

This year’s event saw the largest ASOSAI gathering to date. Approximately 400 delegates from 79 international delegations, including ASOSAI members, the representatives of INTOSAI's working groups and international organisations as observers, participated in the Assembly.

In addition, more than 400 domestic guests who are representatives from the Party, Presidential Office, the Government, the National Assembly, political and social organisations, localities, universities and research institutes; international organisations and the embassies of several countries in Vietnam also took part in.

The assembly elected the members of Governing Board namely Indonesia, Kuwait, Russia, Nepal, Bangladesh and two members of the ASOSAI Audit Committee for the term 2018-2021, Turkey and Kazakhstan.

It also approved the reports on the budget, research activity and capacity building, the implementation of the ASOSAI strategic plan, recognising Palestine SAI as a new member, and the regulation for observers for the Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions in South East Asia - ESEANSAI.

Especially, Auditor General of Vietnam officially assumed the role of Chairman of ASOSAI and Auditor General of China as Secretary General of ASOSAI for the term 2018-2021 at this Assembly.

Furthermore, the Assembly has achieved significant professional success, including the results of the 7th Symposium and the Hanoi Declaration.-VNA