(sav.gov.vn) – As part of the working visit of the high-level delegation led by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to attend the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150) in Uzbekistan, on 8 April, Mr. Tran Minh Khuong, Deputy Auditor General of Viet Nam, paid a working visit with the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Uzbekistan (CCU).
Mr. Mekhriddin Abdullaev, Acting Chairman of CCU, along with representatives from several departments under the Audit Commission, welcomed the delegation.
Also attending the meeting from the State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV) was Ms. Lang Trinh Mai Huong, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation.
At the working session, Deputy Auditor General Tran Minh Khuong expressed his appreciation to the leadership of the CCU and its colleagues for taking the time to welcome the SAV delegation during this important visit. He also affirmed that the cooperation between the two supreme audit institutions (SAIs) would contribute to elevating the bilateral relationship between the two countries in line with the strategic cooperation orientation of both nations.
Providing information about the activities of SAV, Khuong stated that the SAV is an institution established by the National Assembly, operating independently and adhering solely to the law, with the mandate of managing public finance and assets. The responsibilities and coordination between the National Assembly and the SAV are stipulated in the State Budget Law and the Law on State Audit.
Over more than 30 years of its establishment and development, the SAV has fully performed its statutory functions, such as: providing opinions to the National Assembly for their consideration and decision-making on the state budget estimates and the allocation of the central budget; offering opinions on investment proposals for nationally significant projects prior to parliamentary approval; participating in the National Assembly's supreme oversight activities; and focusing on auditing the final accounts of local budgets and budgets of central ministries and agencies to facilitate the approval of the state budget by the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels.
Sharing his profound impressions of the Viet Nam–Uzbekistan relationship, the Acting Chairman of the CCU affirmed that cooperation between the two SAIs would make a significant contribution to advancing the bilateral relationship between the two countries
. “This is also a strategic orientation of Uzbekistan,” Mr. Mekhriddin stated.
According to the Acting Chairman, although the CCU was only established in 2002, with more than 100 personnels conducting audits of state budget revenues and expenditures for a country with over 37 million people, including both central and local government budgets – it has operated very effectively. In particular, the CCU has actively implemented digitalisation and applied information technology in audit activities, especially in the past 18 months.
“Our audits focus on risk analysis and identifying weaknesses in the systems of government agencies through remote auditing. We are now starting to apply artificial intelligence (AI) in audit activities,” shared the Acting Chairman.
Strongly supported by a Presidential decree on the digital transformation and remote audit initiative, the CCU has access to the databases of all audited entities. As such, audits can be performed remotely based on large data sets. The CCU has collaborated with the Ministry of Information Technology to develop audit applications based on its own professional and technical requirements, and together with senior experts from the Ministry, has developed specialised software and applications for audit activities.
During the meeting, the leaders of the two SAIs discussed promoting bilateral cooperation through initiatives such as: increasing the exchange of working delegations between the two institutions to share experience on new audit methods and the application of information technology in audit work. They also discussed the early signing of a long-term cooperation agreement, focusing on areas of mutual interest and conducting joint audits.
In terms of multilateral cooperation, the SAV and the CCU will support each other at multilateral forums
(such as the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions – INTOSAI, and the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions – ASOSAI) to enhance the value and benefits for each side and the organisations as a whole.
“This visit marks an important beginning in the bilateral cooperation between The SAV and the CCU, laying the groundwork for the signing of a long-term cooperation agreement between the two SAIs. In the near future, both sides may continue to conduct high-level visits, share technical expertise, or carry out joint audits to enhance capacity, particularly in digital transformation, information technology application, and the use of AI in audit activities,” affirmed Mr. Tran Minh Khuong.