Cooperative audit on water management in Mekong River basin kicks off

SAV Auditor General and ASOSAI Chairman Ho Duc Phoc (centre) and other participants at the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) on December 22 organised a kick-off meeting for a cooperative environmental audit on water management in the Mekong River basin for 2020-2021.

The meeting took place under the chair of SAV Auditor General and Chairman of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) Ho Duc Phoc.

In his opening remarks, Phoc said the Hanoi Declaration on “Environmental Audit for Sustainable Development” was approved at the 14th ASOSAI Assembly in 2018.

The document defines two major strategic goals for ASOSAI in the subsequent period: bolstering environmental auditing, and promoting issues relating to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

As Chair of ASOSAI for the 2018-2021 term and the initiator of the Hanoi Declaration, the SAV has exerted every effort in the implementation of activities and initiatives to realise the document, including the organisation of a cooperative environmental audit on water management in the Mekong River basin for 2020-2021 in several Southeast Asian nations, the official added.

In the face of the emergency regarding water security in countries in the Mekong River’s lower reaches, it is time for the SAV to join hands with Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in Southeast Asia in holding the audit, he affirmed.

During the kick-off meeting, three SAIs from Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar signed a statement of commitments and terms of reference for the cooperative audit, agreeing on an action plan for its organisation.

Accordingly, they will focus on identifying the responsibilities of related countries in the implementation of the SGDs, and assess their contributions to commitments on water resources management, use, and protection in the Mekong River basin./.