Capacity building: Integrity for the project management units

Attending the capacity building workshop were Mr. To Huy Vu, Director General of the SBV International Cooperation Department, Mr. Steven Schipani, ADB Senior Specialist, international facilitators from the ADB's Office of Anti-corruption and Integrity (OAI), Mrs January Sanchez, ADB Integrity Specialist… Also attending the seminar were various representatives of the ministries, agencies, project management units, Central and local project management boards.

The purpose of the capacity building workshop was to exchange and discuss background knowledge from theoretical and practical perspectives on the ADB's integrity and anti-corruption policy, as well as strengthening the capacity to detect and prevent risks when implementing projects.

Mr. To Huy Vu, Director General of the SBV International Cooperation Department, delivers his opening remarks

Over the years, the relationship between Vietnam and ADB has developed very well. Vietnam always considers the ADB to be one of the leading sponsors of Vietnam. The ADB has financed 173 projects with a total value of over USD 16 billion and more than 50 undergoing programs and projects. This is an important funding resource to support poverty reduction and economic growth in Vietnam. In the coming time, the ADB will focus on improving the portfolio of the ADB's projects/programs as Vietnam is the country with the largest list of programs/projects in ASEAN region and the fourth largest among all members of the ADB. The ADB would like to ensure that the financial resources it provides to projects are cost-effective.

Recognizing the importance of integrity and anti-corruption in the project implementation process, the Government of Vietnam (GoV) has taken steps to concretize action and implementation plans in this area. The development of a transparent and integrity Government has become a major policy in the Government's operations. Beside the efforts of the Government, the project management and implementing agencies should also contribute proactively to enhancing the integrity, such as actively strengthening the capacity, understanding the law on anti-corruption for the project staff; developing and implementing integrity in order to be transparent in enhancing competitiveness, supporting the implementation of projects with funding from foreign institutions. The SBV, as the Vietnam’s representative agency at the ADB, will work closely with the ADB to organize capacity building courses for Vietnamese agencies.

With the above-mentioned needs, the ADB has coordinated with the SBV to organize this Capacity Building Workshop on Integrity. The Workshop helped equip the participants with the most basic knowledge of the ADB's integrity policy. This was an opportunity for agencies to better understand the ADB's integrity policy to properly and effectively implement the ADB-funded projects.

Mrs. January Sanchez, ADB Integrity Specialist, presents the ADB's integrity and anti-corruption policy

At the Workshop, Ms January Sanchez, ADB Integrity Specialist, and Mr. Erickson Quijano, ADB Integrity Adviser, delivered presentations on the ADB's integrity and anti-corruption policy. The speakers also exchanged on the general concept of integrity and anti-corruption, the standards, regulations and some practical experiences related to these issues. The speakers also shared practical experiences in identifying common integrity violations, minimize project risks and strengthen capacity to manage risks to prevent corruption during project implementation...

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