Attending the Meeting were more than 50 delegates from 10 anti-corruption agencies of 10 ASEAN countries. H.E Thongloun SISOULITH, President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic sent a welcome message to the Opening Session of the Meeting.

Under the chairmanship of Mr. Yonn Sinat, Vice President of the State Inspection Authority of the Lao PDR (SIA), delegates discussed and adopted the Minutes of the 18th ASEAN-PAC Principals’ Meeting, shared their respective countries’ progresses and good practices in anti-corruption in recent times. In particular, at this Meeting, delegates witnessed the official signing bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between SIA and the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and between SIA and the Myanmar Anti-Corruption Agency (ACC).

Regarding progresses in anti-corruption work, sharings of 10 ASEAN-PAC member agencies shows that in general, in 2023, ASEAN countries have achieved remarkable anti-corruption results, showing the great determination of each country in anti-corruption work. At the Meeting, the representative of GIV Delegation presented recent progresses in anti-corruption and strategic orientations in fighting against corruption and negative acts in Viet Nam.

Also at the Meeting, member agencies discussed further to complete the content of  the e-booklet of ASEAN-PAC. Accordingly, it was expected that e-booklet would include information about the history and development of ASEAN-PAC since its establishment, experiencing important illuminations. Member agencies were unanimous in approving the content and layout of the e-booklet.

At the Meeting, representative of the Philippine Office of Ombudsman (OMB) presented the idea of conducting comparative research on the differences and compatibility between 10 ASEAN-PAC member agencies on functions, authority, organizational structure, etc. Members believed that it was necessary to consider the timeframe to conduct the research to ensure effectiveness, preferably the time to synthesize the documents related to this study.

At the margin of the Meeting took place an open session with the international community. This year's open session of the Meeting continued to be a fruitful discussion session with the direct participation of representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. ASEAN-PAC member agencies unanimously decided to organize a capacity building workshop in the first quarter of 2024.

As also agreed upon by all member agencies, the 20th ASEAN-PAC Principals’ Meeting will be hosted by the KPK in Indonesia at the end of 2024. ASEAN-PAC will continue to discuss the organization of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-PAC in the upcoming meetings.