Promoting cooperation between Vietnam and Spain's Catalonia region

Deputy State Auditor General Ha Thi My Dung had a working session with the Catalonia Regional Audit Agency to expand professional cooperation, exchange experiences and apply digital technology in regional auditing.

According to VNA correspondent in Southern Europe, on November 5, Deputy State Auditor General Ha Thi My Dung had a working session with the Audit Agency of Catalonia region (Spain) to promote cooperation between the two sides in the coming time.

Expressing his pleasure in welcoming Deputy State Auditor General Ha Thi My Dung and the delegation of the State Audit of Vietnam, President of the Catalonia Regional Audit Agency, Mr. Miquel Salazar Canalda, introduced the history of formation, functions, position, organizational structure and independent role of this agency in finance, economic management and effective control of the Catalan government, local agencies and other agencies of the public sector in Catalonia.

Expressing her gratitude for the warm welcome that the Catalonia Audit Office gave to the delegation of the State Audit of Vietnam as well as the detailed introduction of the Catalonia Audit Office by the Chairman, Deputy State Auditor General Ha Thi My Dung expressed her pleasure to meet her colleagues, with the hope that the meeting will continue to open up new prospects for cooperation between the two sides in the coming time.

At the meeting, the State Audit leaders also informed the guest about some basic features of Vietnam's economic development as well as the development of the State Audit in recent times.

Currently, the State Audit apparatus consists of 31 units (9 advisory units, 8 specialized State Audits, 12 regional State Audits and 2 public service units), with a total of more than 2,000 civil servants, public employees and workers.

Regarding international cooperation, the State Audit of Vietnam currently has 19 valid international agreements with bilateral partners.

The State Audit Office of Vietnam is one of the four founding members of ASEANSAI, the Chairman of ASOSAI for the 2018-2021 term and was elected as a member of the ASOSAI Audit Committee for the 2024-2027 term at the 16th ASOSAI Congress in India in September 2024.

In the coming time, the State Audit will continue to be a responsible member in developing and implementing multilateral commitments and agreements (INTOSAI, ASOSAI, ASEANSAI); successfully fulfilling its role as a member of the ASOSAI Audit Committee for the 2024-2027 term to enhance the role and position of the State Audit in the region and in the international arena.

The Vietnamese State Audit Delegation and leaders of the Catalonia Regional Audit Office (Spain) attended the working session. (Photo: VNA)

The State Audit leaders expressed their hope that the two sides will further strengthen the exchange of professional delegations and share on topics of mutual strength and interest, through sending experts to share experiences and participate in training courses and seminars in each side.

The working program was followed by a Dialogue on experience exchange between the two agencies on the topic "Strengthening the regional audit function of Supreme Audit Institutions" with presentations by representatives of the State Audit of Vietnam and representatives of the Catalonia Regional Audit Office.

Following the presentations, the two sides had a lively discussion, focusing on practical issues in enhancing the capacity and expanding the scope of activities of regional audit agencies.

Representatives of both sides agreed that in the current context of public administration, regional State Audit activities require audit agencies to not only play the role of “financial gatekeepers,” but also policy advisory partners to support localities in improving the efficiency of resource management.

Delegates also shared many valuable experiences in applying technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI) in auditing, using big data to identify risks, identify key audit areas and improve the quality of public financial supervision.

The Vietnamese side highly appreciated the reform efforts of the State Audit of Vietnam, especially in modernizing audit methods and promoting the role of regional State Audits in detecting and preventing corruption and waste.

At the same time, the representative of the Catalonia Regional Audit Office also expressed his desire to increase experience sharing, exchange of professional delegations, organize bilateral training courses and seminars on topics of mutual interest such as information technology auditing, performance auditing and local public sector auditing.

At the end of the working session, Deputy State Auditor General Ha Thi My Dung emphasized that the meeting and discussion with the Catalonia Regional Audit Agency not only opened up new cooperation opportunities but was also an important first step in forming a cooperation bridge between the State Audit of Vietnam and European regional audit agencies.

The Deputy State Auditor General expressed his belief that enhancing professional exchanges, sharing experiences in local audit management and applying digital technology will help the two agencies develop together, making positive contributions to the common mission of the world supreme audit community - INTOSAI in promoting transparency, accountability and sustainable development of public finance./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thuc-day-hop-tac-giua-viet-nam-va-vung-catalonia-cua-tay-ban-nha-post1075711.vnp