The final G20 auditors’ summit will be held in Goa in June. The preliminary one was held for three days in Guwahati….reports Asian Lite News
Among the most important verticals being planned for the G20 meetings that are being presided over by India is the sphere of audit which is seen as a neutral sector that is devoid of the trappings of geopolitical strategic positioning, Comptroller and Auditor General Girish Chandra Murmu said.
Attended by senior officials of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) of the G20 nations, the preliminary one was held for three days in Guwahati from March 13-15 while the final G20 auditors’ summit will be held in Goa in June. Asked about whether the Guwahati event went as planned, CAG Murmu said: “SAI20 has been a beacon of success in promoting collaboration and support among its member nations. The cooperative spirit among all participants continues to thrive, evident from their enthusiastic participation and deliberations.”
“The discussions on priority issues of Blue Economy and Responsible Artificial Intelligence further highlight their shared determination to achieve common goals”, he added.
The year 2023 is a very important year for India as it has assumed the presidency of both the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the G20.
“Through the SAI20 Initiative, professionals from different countries are provided a common ground to combine their expertise and develop innovative solutions to address common governance challenges,” said CAG Murmu.
“The SAI20 platform remains a testament to the power of international cooperation and serves as a shining example of what can be achieved when we work together towards a shared vision,” the national auditor said.
Recently, Murmu was selected as the external auditor of ILO (International Labour Organization), Geneva, for a four-year term from 2024 to 2027.
The India CAG is also the external auditor of the World Health Organization (2020-2023), Food and Agriculture Organization (2020-2025), International Atomic Energy Agency (2022-2027), Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (2021-2023) and Inter-Parliamentary Union (2020-2022).
Besides being a member of the UN Panel of External Auditors, India’s CAG is also a member of the Governing Boards of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and ASOSAI.
Meanwhile, the delegates from the SAI20 broadly agreed to the ‘Zero’ draft of the Communique and provided their suggestions to bring out an inclusive, decisive, and action-oriented Communique in the SAI20 summit scheduled to be held in Goa in June.
The delegations in their General Statements agreed on the strong relevance of the priority areas while appreciating the presentations. CAG Murmu, as part of his valedictory address, appreciated the wealth of knowledge gained during the deliberations on the priority areas of Blue Economy and Responsible AI and stressed on the need for collaboration amongst the members for developing and strengthening accountability frameworks.
Murmu highlighted that though each nation has its own unique challenges in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, a good widely replicable knowledge system drawing upon collective wisdom was achievable. The experiences and inputs of the delegates provided a concrete pathway towards tangible outcomes in the form of auditing guidelines and toolkits for effective audits, as well as the SAI20 Communique. (ANI)
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