Vietnam’s first official delegation in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit

From 29-31 May, 2019, the Vietnamese Delegation led by Mr. Nguyen Quoc Van, Director of the Institute of Inspectorate Strategy and Science, Government Inspectorate, officially attended the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Ottawa, Canada. Besides the Government Inspectorate, the Delegation included other representatives from the Central Committee of Internal Affairs, the Office of the National Assembly, the Government Office, and the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. With the financial support from the Embassy of Finland in Hanoi, Towards Transparency coordinated this trip with a view to contributing to the prevention and fight against corruption and promoting open government.

During the three- day summit, the Vietnamese Delegation had the opportunity to learn about the concept, values, principles of OGP and practical experience of OGP member-countries. Currently 79 countries and 20 local governments are members of this initiative. By participating in a series of events covering diverse topics on OGP, the Delegation’s members thought highly of this initiative as an effective tool in preventing and fighting against corruption, improving the quality of public administration, and felt positive about Vietnam’s prospect to join OGP in the future.

The Delegation met with the representatives of the Ministry of Finance of Finland

On this occasion, Towards Transparency also organized a side event for the Delegation to meet and learn about OGP participation experience from the representatives of the Ministry of Finance of Finland, which was the focal point in implementing OGP in this country. In addition, the Delegation had an in-depth technical conversation with the OGP Support Unit on OGP’s operational mechanism and received the eligibility criteria brief on Vietnam’s prospect to join OGP. At the end of the working sessions, representatives of the Ministry of Finance of Finland and the OGP Support Unit expressed their willingness to provide Vietnam with necessary technical assistance to pursue open government.

The Delegation met with the OGP Support Unit

The OGP Global Summit is an annual global event organized by the government acting as the rotating Chairman of the OGP Steering Committee. During the period of 2018 – 2019, the Chairman of the OGP Steering Committee is the Government of Canada. This year, the OGP Summit welcomed more than 2,000 delegates from all over the world, including governments, social organizations, international organizations, research institutes, universities, businesses, news agencies, and the media. More information about the OGP Global Summit 2019 can be found here.

Launched in 2011, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a voluntary international effort that aims to secure governments’ concrete commitments to improve transparency, encourage people’s participation, fight against corruption, strengthen governments’ listening capacity and responsiveness to their people. By participating in OGP, countries send a strong message to their citizens as well as the international community about their commitment to increasing openness, transparency, accountability, and determination to fight corruption for a prosperous nation. For more information about OGP and the feasibility of Vietnam’s participation in OGP, please refer to the Policy Brief published by Towards Transparency here.