The annual meeting and conference of the Eastern Region Organisation for Public Administration (EROPA) closed in Hanoi on October 23 after five days of discussions on how to improve public administration and governance in the context of global integration.

Over 400 managers and scholars discussed innovative approaches to transparency, integrity and accountability; the involvement of the private sector in State governance; public finance and services; and e-government model at all levels.

In his closing remark, standing Chairman of the EROPA Council Kazuo Miwa hailed the event as a success that would help facilitate the birth of the a united, dynamic and prosperous community.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Vietnam has undertaken maximum efforts to apply advanced technology to public governance, including the establishment of a database of civil servants, the development of software for the civil service entrance examination, the provision of online services for social welfare payments and the ongoing implementation of a plan to issue citizen identification numbers.

EROPA, the first of its kind in the Asian-Pacific region, aims to boost regional socio-economic development through joint theoretical research and system reform.

It acts as a platform to exchange information and share approaches to effective and transparent governance.

EROPA comprises 10 member states; 58 institutions, universities and organisations; and 229 individuals.

The next EROPA conference will be held in Shanghai, China in October 2015.-VNA