INTOSAI delegation renders a visit to the United Nations Secretary-General

On 25 May 2022, an INTOSAI delegation consisting of INTOSAI First Vice-Chair Minister Bruno Dantas, INTOSAI Secretary General Dr. Margit Kraker and Members of the INTOSAI Governing Board Dr. Harib Saeed Al Amimi, Counsellor Hesham Badawy and Jorge Bermúdez Soto met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The visit was initiated by the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil as future chair of INTOSAI and host of the upcoming INTOSAI Congress. Minister Bruno Dantas emphasized the importance of the cooperation between the UN and INTOSAI and invited the UN Secretary-General to open INCOSAI XXIV in November 2022.

Subsequently, INTOSAI’s priorities – such as promoting the independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) or the contribution of SAIs to a successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – as well as corresponding joint initiatives with the UN were discussed.

INTOSAI Secretary General Dr. Margit Kraker highlighted the central role of SAIs in safeguarding accountability and good governance and stressed at the same time that only independent SAIs are able to create the necessary impact. In this context she presented the UN Secretary-General with a handout illustrating the important role of independent SAIs as partners of the UN.

There was general consensus that the efforts to implement the SDGs need to be stepped up in the post-COVID-19 era and that SAIs will continue to review such implementation.