Hanoi (VNA)🏅 - The 14th Assembly of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) is taking place in Hanoi, with participants discussing ways to boost environmental auditing for the sustainable development of the region.

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of the 7^th symposium in the framework of the 14^th♓ ASOSAI Assembly, delegates praised the event’s outcomes, which, according to them, will benefit all member supreme audit institutions (SAIs).

Ouk Saravudh, vice head of Cambodia SAI, said ASOSAI 14’s theme “Environmental Auditing for Sustainable Development” is relevant to requirement for national development. The 46 member SAIs shared experience and knowledge. Cambodia SAI can learn from other SAIs and identify challenges in the future and seek solutions for them. “We have learnt a lot from Vietnam SAI in environmental auditing and invited Vietnamese experts to come and share their knowledge and experience with Cambodian auditing agencies,” said Saravudh.

Likewise, the head of Nepal SAI, Tanka Mani Sharma expressed his delight at the fruitful discussions among member SAIs in the framework of the 14^th ASOSAI Assembly.

“The discussions will lay a foundation for developing criteria and standards for environmental auditing implementation while improving the auditing systems of concerned countries,” he said. He suggested Vietnam SAI, as ASOSAI Chair, take opinions of other member SAIs to ensure the effective performance of the organisation. “Vietnam should also keep close touch with all other members, together identify strength and weaknesses, just improving each other’s auditing quality,” he said. Meanwhile, Adam Naseer, head of Maldives SAI, noted the significance of environmental auditing to his country’s economy as a tourism nation. “Our economy mainly relies on the sea and sand, which is part of the environment. It means our economy depends on the environment, therefore environmental auditing is our major concern,” he said. He also underlined the need to apply technology in environmental auditing to ensure the work is more accurate and faster. ASOSAI gathers 46 member organisations with diverse legal status, culture, politics and development level, leading to varying viewpoints on public auditing. ASOSAI stands as an organisation committed to developing and supporting its member SAIs and helping them benefit from knowledge sharing and capacity building initiatives to enhance their contribution to their nations. The ASOSAI Assembly, held every three years, is a venue for all heads of ASOSAI audit agencies to discuss major issues, necessary documents, regimes and policies to achieve the association’s objectives and further its development. This year’s event in Vietnam sees the largest ASOSAI gathering to date, with the participation of around 250 delegates from 46 supreme audit institutions in Asia. Representatives from the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and a number of other international organisations are also attending as observers.-VNA