AKIPRESS.COM - A set of recommendations for improving legal certainty, efficiency and consistency of administrative processes, focused on public private-partnerships in the fight against corruption, were developed during a four-day modular training course in Ulaanbaatar and presented on May 12 to the State Great Khural, Mongolia’s Parliament.

The course gathered mid and senior government officials as well as business representatives from a range of industrial sectors. A team of international experts from Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom facilitated collaborative discussions to identify needs and opportunities for strengthening existing and new anti-corruption efforts in the Mongolian context.

“This week’s inter-disciplinary programme has been designed to support the implementation of the recently adopted National Anti-Corruption Programme of Mongolia,” said Roel Janssens, OSCE Economic Adviser. “Among other things, it was meant to raise awareness of how anti-corruption efforts can help encourage foreign direct investment and boost diversification of the economy.”

Chimedyam Purev Ochir, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Business Council of Mongolia, said: “Since the public and private sectors are part of the corruption equation, they must also be part of the solution – working together towards the same goals”.

Discussions focused on corruption risks at the interface between the private and public sectors. The thematic sessions considered international standards for anti-corruption, public procurement, trade facilitation and customs, including how to translate these standards into national law and how to implement these laws effectively through transparent guidelines and training.

Basaannyam Zagraa, Commissioner in Charge of the Independent Authority Against Corruption of Mongolia, said: “What the public and private sectors in Mongolia need most is an effective platform to share information and to facilitate co-operative efforts in fighting corruption”.

The four-day modular training course was co-organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, the Independent Authority Against Corruption, the Business Council of Mongolia and Transparency International Mongolia. Over 100 private sector and public sector representatives participated in the programme, which was funded by Germany and the Asia Foundation.