Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG)'s visit to Maldives 24-26 October 2021
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India led delegation was on official visit to Maldives, from 24th - 26th October 2021, at the invitation of the Auditor General (AG) of Maldives. The delegation was led by Mr. Girish Chandra Murmu, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
On 24th October 2021, CAG delegation met AG delegation led by Mr. Hussain Niyazy, Auditor General (AG) of Maldives. Both sides discussed ways and means to further cooperation in Capacity Building and emerging audit areas like IT, Environment & Climate Change, Natural Resources Management, etc.
Post meeting, CAG and AG signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between AGO Maldives and the CAG India to strengthen existing relations and bilateral cooperation between both parties. The MOU shall led to further collaboration in the areas of mutual interest to enhance the professional capacity of both the institutions and improve their methodologies in the field of public audit.
Later, CAG delegation met Finance Minister Mr Ibrahim Ameer and discussed importance of Public Finance Management (PFM) reforms and performance audits to ensure accountability and good governance.
On 25th October 2021, CAG delegation had call-on to Hon. President Mohamed Nasheed, MP & Speaker of the People's Majlis. Both discussed the importance of effective and timely implementation of development projects besides performance audit of large infrastructure projects. CAG of India, Mr. Girish Chandra Murmu apprised the speaker about the coordination between Parliament of India and CAG of India to ensure development and good governance. He highlighted the importance of judicious use of natural resources and the concept of Natural Resource Accounting (NRA), which is a crucial element of Sustainable Development. Both sides also exchanged ideas on deepening cooperation between autonomous institutions that form the bedrock of our democracies.
After Call-on, the CAG delegation had a meeting with Public Accounts Committee (PAC), People's Majlis. PAC was led by its Chairperson Mr Mohamed Nashiz, MP, People’s Majlis. Both sides underlined the importance of accountability of public funds & independent audit authorities in democracies.
Later, the CAG delegation had call-on to Hon. Vice President of Maldives His Excellency Mr Faisal Naseem. The Vice President applauded India's CAG continuous collaboration and support provided to the AGO Maldives especially in Capacity Building. He also expressed gratitude to the India for the assistance and contribution to the Maldives’s development priorities. CAG of India, Mr. Girish Chandra Murmu highlighted the significance of efficiently usage of limited resources and gave assurance to collaborate with AGO Maldives in different areas of audit, such as performance audit, environmental audit, Natural Resource Accounting (NRA) and Information Technology besides further assisting in capacity-building. They also discussed ways to deepen the inherent relationship and the close ties between the two countries.
On 26th October 2021, CAG delegation had meeting with AG delegation led by Mr. Hussain Niyazy, Auditor General (AG) of Maldives. During the meeting, both sides deliberated upon the way forward and agreed to come up with a mutually agreed Joint Action Plan. Both sides also agreed to nominate the focal point on each side for better and effective coordination.
Cooperation between CAG of India and AGO of Maldives:
CAG of India and AGO of Maldives are both statutory independent constitutional audit institutions enshrined in the constitution of both countries and considered as an important pillar of democracy as act as guardians of public exchequer.
The institutional relationship between the Auditor General’s Office of the Maldives and the Office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India was formally established in 2008 with the signing of an MOU between the two institutions. The MOU led to the strengthening of ties that both the institutions had always enjoyed owing to close bilateral relations and regional cooperation between the Maldives and India and due to the fact both the institutions are members of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). CAG’s International Centre for Information Systems and Audit (iCISA) and International Training Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iCED) are supporting AGO Maldives by offering capacity building programmes under the Government of India’s Indian Technical Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme. In previous years, scores of the AGO staff have attended training programmes run by iCISA. In addition, members of AGO staff have participated in training programmes on environmental audit conducted by iCED. The MoU signed on 24th October 2021 shall intensify the cooperation further.
The visit by CAG delegation and furtherance of institutional cooperation shall pave the way for further strenthening of democratic institutions of both India and Maldives.
