Hanoi (VNA)ཧ – Vietnam’s legislative leader said on September 19 that it is a great honour for Vietnam to host the 14th Assembly of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), adding that the event marks a milestone in the history of the State Audit of Vietnam.

Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made the statement at the opening ceremony of the 14th ASOSAI Assembly that will run in Hanoi until September 22. The legislative leader updated delegates on Vietnam’s significant socio-economic development over the past 30 years, saying that Vietnam, from a underdeveloped nation, now has become a medium-income country with increasingly close-knit links with the Asia-Pacific region as well as other regions worldwide. She also highlighted the intensive and extensive international integration Vietnam has made in tandem with its comprehensive reform. Being an active and responsible members of multilateral mechanisms, Vietnam has made effective contributions to and hosted numerous important international events, including the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU–132) in 2015, APEC Vietnam 2017, the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26) in January and the latest World Economic Forum on ASEAN this year. “ASOSAI 14 is considered to be a significant diplomatic event in Asia,” Ngan said. The ASOSAI has been playing a great role in enhancing the capability of member supreme audit institutions in particular and the development of each nation and the improvement of the region in general. She also expressed her delight at the proactive participation of the State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) in ASOSAI activities and the ASEANSAI. Addressing the opening ceremony, State Auditor General Ho Duc Phoc said the State Audit of Vietnam is proud to be a member of ASOSAI, particularly in the new role as Chairman for 2018-2021. “The SAV is well aware of its responsibility in working with other members to promote its gained achievements and the cooperation among ASOSAI and INTOSAI members, thus enhancing the solidarity, capability and the development of the supreme audit community,” Phoc said. Chairwoman of ASOSAI 13, Madinah Binti Mohamad, head of Malaysia SAI said the Assembly is an excellent forum for discussing and deliberating upon issues and developments in the field of public audit, learning from each others’ experiences and reinforcing the importance of value and benefits of supreme audit institutions across the Asian region. She highlighted the history of ASOSAI and its growth and changes with the emergence of new perspectives of its members. “So many things have already been accomplished since the inception of ASOSAI, particularly in enhancing the capacities of member SAIs through trainings and knowledge sharing as well as fostering professional and technical cooperation with other regional groups,” she said. According to her the real impact of ASOSAI will depend on its ability to respond quickly to the needs of member SAIs and to deliver on priority tasks. “It is our role to not only shed light on public management by analyzing and verifying but also assessing its impact on public finance, anticipating risks and suggesting improvements,” she said. Also addressing the opening ceremony, President of INTOSAI Harib Al Amimi, said INTOSAI has benefited substantially from the formation of its regions over the past 50 years. “With a combination of countries of different sizes, languages and cultures, ASOSAI has emerged as an active professional body and has managed to thread together the global initiatives into the regional context,” he said. According to him, the strategic planning, capacity development and training initiatives of ASOSAI have evolved tremendously over the past 40 years. “INTOSAI has created professional standards and practice over the past decades. This has resulted in the INTOSAI Framework for Professional Practices. Our responsibility is for SAIs to now implement these standards,” he said. He also expressed his belief that the mission will only be possible through support networks that can be enabled by ASOSAI and its sub-regional partners. ASOSAI now stands as a professional and effectively governed organisation that has committed to develop and support its member SAIs and enable them to benefit from knowledge sharing and capacity building initiatives in order to enhance their contribution to the Asian nations, he said. ASOSAI gathers 46 member organisations with diverse legal status, culture, politics and development level, leading to varying viewpoints on public auditing and interest among the members. 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. This year’s event, held for the first time in Vietnam, sees the largest ASOSAI gathering to date, with participation of around 250 delegates from 46 supreme audit institutions in Asian countries. Representatives from the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and a number of other international organisations are also attending as observers.-VNA