Hanoi (VNA) ꦺ– The Hanoi Declaration was considered to be among the mostnotable outcomes of the freshly-wrapped 14th Assembly of the Asian Organisationof Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) in Hanoi.

The declaration,ratified in the second plenary session on September 22, conveys the message ofimplementing environmental auditing, sharing experience and knowledge amongmember SAIs, as well as strengthening technology in auditing. According toGeneral Secretary of ASOSAI 13 Choe Yong-gon, who is the head of KoreanSAI, the ratification of the Hanoi Declaration shows the strongest messages andcommitments of member SAIs on environmental auditing for sustainabledevelopment. “Vietnam needsto lead and push the cooperation among member SAIs in order to effectivelyimplement the goals of Hanoi Declaration as well as the UN’s sustainabledevelopment goals (SDGs),” he said. Choe Yong-gonalso praised Vietnam for successfully hosting ASOSAI 14, saying that thesuccess of such an international event reflects the capability and reputationof Vietnam SAI in the international arena. Likewise, thehead of Malaysia SAI, Madinah Binti Mohamad, who is the Chair of ASOSAI 13,highlighted the success of ASOSAI 14, saying that it reflects active involvementof member SAIs in the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for sustainabledevelopment with 17 SDGs as its centerpiece. She alsopraised the leadership of Vietnam SAI, which has been vividly demonstrated in thesuccessful hosting of the event. “I believethat under the leadership of Dr. Ho Duc Phoc, ASOSAI will further pursue itsefforts to become the role model amongst regional groups to the InternationalOrganisation of Supreme Audit Institutions,” said Madinah Binti Mohamad. Meanwhile, thehead of China SAI, Hu Zejun, underlined the need for member SAIsto further their cooperation in environmental auditing to ensure sustainablesocio-economic development. “ChinaGovernment attached significance to environment protection. We have continuouslyupdated methods, approaches and technology in the work to improve the qualityof environmental auditing,” she said. The head ofChina 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 memberSAIs to boost environmental auditing in the region as well as in the world. AuditorGeneral of the State Audit of Vietnam Ho Duc Phoc spoke highly of the consensusreached among the delegates to the 14th assembly on ratifying theHanoi Declaration with the key message of environmental auditing forsustainable development. “We bring up the initiative on environmentalauditing, aiming to implement the UN’s SDGs,” Phoc said. Vietnam hasimplemented 10 environmental audits in 2017, eight in 2018. The country plansto carry out another eight environmental audits in 2019, with focus on auditingwaste import. The work has helped contribute to the environment protection aswell as to the State budget collection. “We lookforward to learn experience and knowledge from other member SAIs, who arestrong in environmental auditing so that we can establish a more relevant legalframework while improving our own capability,” Phoc said. The ASOSAIAssembly, which is held every three years, is the venue for all heads of ASOSAImember supreme audit agencies to discuss and decide on major issues, necessarydocuments, regimes, and policies to achieve the association’s objectives andfurther its development. It also serves as a forum for sharing experience inthe field of state audits. The 14thASOSAI 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, andthe 52nd and the 53rd Governing Board meetings. This year’sevent saw the largest ASOSAI gathering to date. Approximately 400 delegatesfrom 79 international delegations, including ASOSAI members, therepresentatives of INTOSAI's working groups and international organisations asobservers, 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 andsocial organisations, localities, universities and research institutes; internationalorganisations and the embassies of several countries in Vietnam also took partin. The assemblyelected 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 alsoapproved the reports on the budget, research activity and capacity building,the implementation of the ASOSAI strategic plan, recognising Palestine SAI as anew member, and the regulation for observers for the Organization of SupremeAudit Institutions in South East Asia - ESEANSAI. Especially,Auditor General of Vietnam officially assumed the role of Chairman of ASOSAIand Auditor General of China as Secretary General of ASOSAI for the term2018-2021 at this Assembly. Furthermore,the Assembly has achieved significant professional success, including theresults of the 7th Symposium and the Hanoi Declaration.-VNA