The kick-off meeting for a cooperative environmental audit on water management in the Mekong River basin for 2020-2021 was held online on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The State Audit of Việt Nam (SAV) on Tuesday held a kick-off meeting for a co-operative environmental audit on water management in the Mekong River basin for 2020-2021.

The meeting was chaired by SAV Auditor General and Chairman of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) Hồ Đức Phớc.

In his opening remarks, Phớc 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 as 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 co-operative 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 emergencies 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, he said.

During the kick-off meeting, three SAIs from Việt Nam, Thailand, and Myanmar signed a statement of commitments and terms of reference for the co-operative 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. — VNS