ICAC chief begins visit to Europe to foster international anti-graft cooperation
ICAC Commissioner Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu today (October 15) has commenced a visit to Croatia, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark to update the international community on Hong Kong’s latest probity situation and foster ties in the fight against corruption by exploring opportunities for training collaboration.
In Sibenik, Croatia, Mr Peh and his delegation will attend the High-Level Conference of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) on “Strengthening transparency and accountability to ensure integrity: United against corruption” which opens today.
The Commissioner will speak at a panel on “National bodies or authorities in charge of preventing and/or fighting corruption: the next steps of their cooperation at an international level” tomorrow (October 16) morning.
GRECO is established by the Council of Europe to monitor member states’ compliance with the anti-corruption standards of the organisation. Mr Peh is the only Asian speaker of this conference.
Mr Peh will also hold bilateral meetings with delegations from Eastern/Central Europe and Eurasia attending the conference to initiate talks on collaboration in capacity building training for anti-corruption agencies of these countries.
ICAC officers accompanying Mr Peh to the GRECO conference and assisting in hosting the bilateral meetings include Secretary to Commission Against Corruption, Ms Sally Kwan Yee-lan; Principal Liaison Officer of the International and Mainland Liaison Office (IMLO), Mr Lawrence Chung Wan-hon; Executive Director of the Centre of Anti-Corruption Studies and International Training, Mr Francis Sham Ka-fai; and Chief Investigator, Mr Andrew Cheung Kin-ling.
After the conference, Mr Peh and Mr Chung will depart for Switzerland tomorrow (October 16) afternoon while other delegates will return to Hong Kong on the same evening.
On Wednesday (October 17), the Commissioner will visit the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne and the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, and brief their senior representatives on the latest probity situation in Hong Kong. The IMD and the WEF release their respective reports on world competitiveness annually.
ICAC delegates will travel to Vienna, Austria on Thursday (October 18) to meet with senior officials of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Chinese Ambassador to Austria to exchange views on the international development of the fight against corruption.
On the following day (October 19), the Commissioner will chair the meeting of the training committee of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA). Mr Peh, as Commissioner of the ICAC, is an Executive Committee Member of the IAACA and Convenor of its training committee.
The IAACA, of which the Hong Kong ICAC has been a member since 2007, is a non-governmental international organisation set up to promote co-operation in worldwide anti-corruption issues and foster the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
ICAC delegates will set out for Denmark on Saturday (October 20). In Copenhagen, the Commissioner will meet with the World Bank Group’s Vice President (Integrity), who oversees an independent unit tasked with investigating and pursuing sanctions related to allegations of corruption and fraud in projects financed by the group.
Before returning to Hong Kong next Tuesday (October 23), Mr Peh will attend the 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference, a global forum on governance and anti-corruption organised by the Transparency International (TI). During his stay in Copenhagen, Mr Peh will meet with the Chair and other senior executives of the TI to update them on the ICAC’s latest anti-graft initiatives.
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