The opening ceremony of the 2017 Audit Seminar for SAIs along the “Belt and Road Routes”, organized by the China National Audit Office (CNAO), was held on 5 June in Nanjing. There were 39 audit officers from 17 countries and regions attending the seminar. The Director of the Commissioner of Audit’s Office, Ho Wai Heng, and the Director of Audit Bureau, Neoh Hwai Beng, were invited to participate, in order to have an overview of China’s economic and social development and government audit, as well as exchange opinions with other participants.

In the seminar, the Deputy Auditor General of CNAO, Ms. Qin Boyong, expressed the hope that all participants will promote the realization of mutual development and actively enhance exchange of audit experience, displaying the Silk Road Spirit of “peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit”. On behalf of all participants, the Deputy Auditor General of Pakistan, Sher Bahadar Arbab, said in his speech that the Belt and Road initiative is a grand vision of China, and it is delighted to see that this vision is coming true.

The ten-day seminar covered a series of topics, including the Overview of China’s Political and Economic Development, the Function, Mandate and Procedures of Government Auditing, the Agricultural Audit, the Real-time (follow up) Audit on Policy Implementation, the Capacity Building of Auditors and the Economic Responsibility Audit. Besides that, participants also visited Nanning, the city of Guangxi, to study and have exchange of views with the Audit Office of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The audit officers in this seminar came from the Belt and Road countries, such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Seychelles, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tonga and Vietnam.