Speech Vendrik samenwerking Rekenkamers

I am very happy to be in Tunis with you today and to be present for the official launch of a new phase of our institutional cooperation project.

I would like to thank you very much for your desire to improve the quality and impact of your work and thus by being a partner in this ambitious SHARAKA project.

I would also like to thank you for choosing again to cooperate with the Netherlands Court of Audit - we are very honoured. And thank you for your warm hospitality and the generosity we have experienced over the past days!

The NCA, as a member of Intosai, has a long-standing tradition of international cooperation with our colleagues around the world. We have been following one anothers' work for the past ten years and are now about to engage in a new multiannual bilateral cooperation project.

Our objectives in the project are to work together to strengthen public financial management, accountability and transparency in line with international auditing standards, and to contribute to the development of good governance in public financial management and to the effectiveness of public services in our respective countries.

The present board of the NCA I am member of, supports the continuation and deepening of this field of activity. We do so, because we consider international cooperation between SAIs to be a matter of professional solidarity.

Secondly, we need international cooperation to collectively improve our operations. We are all obliged to ensure our continuing relevance and to create as much positive impact as possible for the citizens of our countries and the world community.

Thirdly, although the NCA celebrated its bicentenary two years ago, we cherish the idea that we too are too young to rest on our laurels and to rely on our achievements in the past to guarantee our position today. That is why our Board has adopted, like you as component of this Sharaka project, the plan to conduct a Self Assessment for Supreme Audit Institutions (a SAI-Performance Measurement Framework as it is officially called) and to hold a peer review in the near future. And yes, that will be our moment of humility.

The cooperation project we are officially launching today is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is part of its so-called Sharaka program. This support is enabling us to start or intensify our cooperation with others SAIs in the Arab world. In addition to our cooperation with the Cour des Comptes of Tunisia, we will be working with the SAIs of Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. Mr Embassador, we are grateful to Minister Koenders for his endorsement!

The principles of our Sharaka cooperation programme are working on the basis of common goals, standards and commitment, and mutual benefit.

Our 4 bilateral cooperation projects are based on needs assessments and demand driven.

We hope to contribute to strengthened cooperation in the Arab region.

 e will invest in internal and external evaluations of the programme implemention to learn and share lessons.

Mr President, dear guests and dear colleagues of the Cour des Comptes, you have chosen to be open to possibilities to improve the functioning of your organisation and to contribute to the ongoing PFM reforms. In the past few days, the dedicated and professional staff of the CdC have held animated discussions with our experts on the direction and details of our joint cooperation. I would like to thank all participants for their intense efforts and I welcome the progress that has been made.

This is, indeed, an ambitious program and I admire you Mr President, in taking up the challenges involved. The position of the Court des Comptes has been strengthened in the new Constitution of 2014 and I hope you can play a vital role in the democratic development in Tunisia.

An important issue discussed this week relates to the field of communication with parliament and other stakeholders. It is our experience that a strong relationship with parliament is vital to creating more impact. My colleagues in the board and I meet with MP's almost weekly to discuss the outcomes of our audits.

Integrity and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are also a focus of our Sharaka cooperation. We hope that the Intosaint methodology will help your office to identify integrity vulnerabilities and to balance these with effective controls so as to safeguard the CDC from integrity breaches, which would put your reputation and authority at risk. By doing so you can set the example for the public sector and spread the word.

Finally, the SDG's. They are the world's roadmap for the next 15 years. These universal objectives for human civilization on planet Earth bring us to the ultimate heart and soul of our work. How can we help to improve the life of citizens now and in the future?

Mr president, dear colleagues, I sincerely hope we will cooperate together in this spirit and I am thankful for the partnership the Cour des Comptes offers us today.

Anaa saeid ji-dan wa atamana ana-jaah li haada el-ma-shroeh, shoukran.