Workshop
On "Best Practices for Achieving Transparency and Integrity
in the AMED Countries"
Cairo 6 – 7 December 2009
Chairman's Report
A Workshop on "Best Practices for Achieving Transparency and Integrity in
the AMED Countries" was held in Cairo on 6 – 7 December 2009. It was
jointly organized by the Ministry of State for Administrative Development and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, with the
participation of about 100 high-ranking experts representing delegations from
27 countries (namely; Egypt, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China,
India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mauritania,
Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Palestine, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam,
Yemen and the Sudan), in addition to the UNDP, the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime, the African Union, and the National Human Rights Council of the Arab
Republic of Egypt.
The Egyptian initiative to convene the Workshop emanated from the
framework of the Executive Plan of Action approved by the Second AMED
Ministerial Conference held in Sharm El Sheikh in April 2008. The workshop
aims at enhancing coordination and the exchanging of experiences among
AMED countries in tackling corruption, in areas such as strengthening the
institutional and legal framework, policies of combating corruption, and
entrenching the values and practices of integrity, transparency and
accountability.
This Workshop is the second specialized meeting of experts held under the
Egyptian auspices within the framework of AMED. The first meeting, which
was held in Cairo in February 2009, addressed the implications of the global
financial crisis.
H.E. Dr. Ahmed Darwish, the Egyptian Minister of State for
Administrative Development inaugurated the Workshop by delivering a
statement that included the following main points:

The strategy of the Egyptian government to combat corruption is
based on a strong political will to combat corruption, the enactment of
laws and legislations ensuring further transparency and accountability,
stemming the sources of corruption, establishing an effective system
for serving the citizens, promoting the culture of citizens' attachment
to their rights, enhancing cooperation and the exchange of information
among anti-corruption institutions, and enhancing the functions of the
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Committee on Transparency and Integrity at the Ministry of State for
Administrative Development, which was established in 2007.

Corruption derails governments' efforts to achieve favorable growth
rates, provide expedient, high quality and accessible government
services, promote citizens' access to justice, and effectuate law
enforcement.

The importance of translating anti-corruption provisions and
legislation into institutional applications on the ground, and of
streamlining administrative procedures by introducing innovative
mechanisms to ensure citizens' access to government services
wherever they may be, in addition to the institutional development of
the administrative machinery units of the State, and the promotion of
transparency in State bodies.

The conclusions of this workshop will contribute to laying the
groundwork for sustainable cooperation and coordination among
AMED countries in the area of combating corruption.
Ambassador Raouf Saad, Senior Assistant Foreign Minister and
General Coordinator of the Workshop, made a statement on behalf of
the Foreign Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Ahmed Abu El
Gheit. The statement included the following main points:

The Workshop provides an opportunity for the coordination and
exchange of experiences and opinions among AMED countries on
tackling corruption and dealing with the challenges of transparency,
integrity and accountability, while adding to national, regional and
international cooperation efforts in these central domains.

Efforts to combat corruption are linked to the policies of
comprehensive development, poverty reduction, and the promotion of
a partnership between official and non-official institutions, with an
emphasis on the importance of coordination among different State
bodies to combat corruption and solidify values and practices of
integrity and transparency.

Egypt is among the first third world countries that signed and ratified
the UN Convention Against Corruption and adopted corrective
measures and reforms aimed at harmonizing rules, laws and principles
related to the promotion of transparency, integrity and accountability.
It also enacted several legislations to combat all forms of corruption
and established a number of specialized bodies to this effect.
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
The significance of convening the Workshop just before the
celebration of International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2009,
as well as after the conclusion of the Third Session of the Conference
of State Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption in Doha in
November 2009.
Mr. James W. Rawley, the UNDP Resident Representative in the Arab
Republic of Egypt, made a statement that included the following main
points:


The Workshop represents a favorable opportunity for the exchange of
experiences and cooperation among AMED countries in the area of
combating corruption. It also coincides with the global campaign
launched by UNDP and UNODC to promote global anti corruption
awareness.
The important role of UNDP in Egypt in extending technical
assistance to the government in its corruption-combating efforts,
which include developing e-government, integrating information
communications technology and e-government access to Family
Courts, strengthening the capacity of the Transparency and Integrity
Committee at the Ministry of State for Administrative Development,
developing the training capacity of the Egyptian Institute of Directors
in transparency and anti-corruption, and supporting the training of
public prosecutors on anti-corruption measures in collaboration with
the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the European Commission and the
Ford Foundation.
Dr. Sirilaksana Khoman, Representative of the current Thai
Presidency of AMED, made a statement that included the following
main points:

Corruption has negative effects on efforts to achieve development in
different countries. It wastes State resources, impedes povertyreduction strategies, and hinders citizens' rights, thus outlining the
importance of coordinating the efforts of AMED countries to combat
corruption.

The Workshop presents a good opportunity for the exchange of
experiences and views and coordinating the efforts among AMED
countries, with the aim of the realization of development in AMED
countries.
The Workshop addressed the following four themes:
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First: "The Institutional Framework for Combating Corruption"
Dr. Sirilaksana Khoman, Advisor to the head of the National Anti-Corruption
Commission in Thailand, chaired the First Session. Ms. Fatma Bourhan Eldin,
Acting Public Financial Prosecutor in Sudan chaired the Second Session.
Speakers for this theme were from Egypt, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal,
Palestine and Iraq.
The institutional frameworks for combating corruption in the Speaker countries
were explained as follows:

The Egyptian Experience: The main institutional framework includes
the Administrative Control Authority, which is empowered to examine
and probe cases of negligence in work and production, reveal financial
and criminal violations in State authorities, and investigate cases of
illicit earning; the Central Auditing Organization, which exercises
financial oversight in its accounting and legal aspects, as well as legal
oversight of decisions passed on financial violations; the
Administrative Prosecution which is empowered to investigate
corruption in public and State administrative sectors. There is
coordination and cooperation among these institutions and other
Egyptian anti-corruption bodies such as the General Authority for
Public Funds, the Central Agency for Organization and Management,
the General Egyptian Authority for Standardization, and the Ministry
of Administrative Development. Some of these bodies such as the
Central Auditing Organization maintains relations with similar bodies
in a number of countries, and presides over the working group on
combating corruption and money laundering within the framework of
the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, in
addition to its membership in the Arab Network for the Promotion of
Integrity and combating corruption. The Administrative Control
Authority maintains relations with similar authorities in Thailand,
Vietnam, China, Iraq, Palestine, Morocco and Malaysia.

The Singaporean Experience: The Corrupt Practices Investigation
Bureau is the only institution tasked with combating corruption in both
public and private sectors in Singapore, taking into consideration the
fact that most corruption cases are currently in the private sector. The
Bureau is an independent institution, and reports directly to the Prime
Minister. It operates within an established and effective legal
framework that provides maximum penalty for those convicted in
corruption cases. The government supports anti-corruption efforts by
promoting administrative and institutional reforms, including
improvement of administrative governance to enhance the functional
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
efficiency of State institutions and the private sector and ameliorate
their interaction with citizens' needs, while laying down a legislative
framework for corruption prevention. International and transnational
cooperation is considered essential for coordinating the global efforts
to combat corruption, given the growing complexity of corruption
crimes and the difficulty of their pursuit.
The Iraqi Experience: The Iraqi government established a number of
institutions tasked with combating corruption, of which the most
important are the Board of Supreme Audit , established in 1927 and
which oversees the use of public funds, the Commission of Public
Integrity, tasked with enforcing anti-corruption laws and standards of
public service, and proposing additional legislation when necessary,
Offices of Inspectors General authorized to oversee the performance of
ministries, Judicial Institutions applying the Law and providing for a
fair social environment, the Prime Minister's Coordinating Office for
Regulatory Affairs which approves technical and vocational programs
for the development of the regulatory environment of the Offices of
Inspectors General, as well as the Integrity Committee in the Iraqi
Parliament, which monitors corruption cases in State bodies, as well as
the performance of anti-corruption institutions.
The Joint Council for Combating Corruption, headed by the Secretary
General of the Council of Ministers, coordinates the tasks of anticorruption institutions, and implements the government's economic
and social policy while ensuring efficiency, integrity and transparency.
Represented in the Joint Council are the Supreme Judicial Council, the
Board of Supreme Audit, the Commission of Public Integrity, the
Prime Minister's Coordinating Office for Regulatory Affairs, and a
representative of the Inspectors General.
The Palestinian Experience: Anti-corruption institutions include the
State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau, Public Prosecutors,
the Supreme Judicial Council, and they are supported by the
Palestinian Authority in their anti-corruption capacity. These
institutions are tasked with the preparation of an anti-corruption
national strategy for achieving integrity and combating corruption, the
adoption of codes of conduct for functional conduct and corporate
governance, enhancing the functions of anti-corruption institutions,
and promoting the role of civil society and popular oversight in
combating corruption.

The Indonesian Experience: The Corruption Eradication
Commission was set up in 2003. It coordinates with other institutions
concerned with combating corruption regarding anti-corruption cases,
such as inquiring information or reports regarding a particular case. It
supervises and analyzes the work of anti-corruption institutions, and
may temporarily take over their task if the Police or the Attorney
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General's Office is not serious or unable to carry out a corruption case
adequately. It also conducts preliminary investigations, follow-up
investigations, and prosecutions of acts of corruption that involve legal
or public officials, or public opinion issues, or involve state losses that
exceed IDR 1 billion. It aims at preventing acts of corruption through
oversight of the wealth reports of State officials, establishing anticorruption education programs in school curricula, conducting anticorruption campaigns among the general public, and engaging in
multilateral cooperation in eradicating corruption. It also conducts
analyses on the administrative management systems of all state and
government institutions. Until June 2008, the Corruption Eradication
Commission has managed to retrieve IDR 355 billion in corruption
cases, and has successfully resolved at least 59 corruption cases.
During 2007, it received 5592 reports from the public concerning
allegations of corruption in state institutions.

The Nepalese Experience: The legislative framework for combating
corruption in Nepal includes an anti-corruption law enacted in 2002
which contains stringent provisions for punishing those indicted in
corruption cases, the Special Court Act, which established a number of
special courts for corruption cases; and the Impeachment Act, which
allows for the impeachment of officials involved in acts of corruption.
Anti-corruption institutions include the Commission for the
Investigation of the Abuse of Authority, which is an independent
institution empowered to investigate corruption cases and prosecute
those involved. It is also empowered to make and monitor
recommendations for the improvement of government administrative
procedures and functions, including a system for tasks distribution. It
cooperates with citizens, civil society, and the media to raise public
awareness of corruption, and entrusts civil society with a monitoring
role in this connection.
Second: Anti-Corruption Policies in AMED Countries
Mr. Sidi Ould Ahmed Deye, the General Inspector of State in Mauritania,
chaired the Session discussing this theme. Speakers for the theme were
from China, Yemen, Morocco and Singapore.
The Chinese Experience: The Chinese Communist Party over the past 30
years has promulgated strategies and policies aimed at combating
corruption while simultaneously recognizing and addressing its causes. The
Party's Central Committee in 2005 put forward a general outline for these
strategies with the objectives of putting in place a comprehensive system of
education with the core values of integrity and transparency, strengthening
the institutional framework for combating corruption as well as oversight
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and monitoring systems, and establishing a rigorous system for reward and
punishment. These objectives were translated into an action plan for the
reinforcement of accountability and anti-corruption systems for the period
2008 – 2012 , which involves raising public awareness of regulations, laws
and systems that consolidate principles of transparency and integrity as
opposed to corruption, bolstering anti-corruption rules and regulations,
promoting systems of accountability and oversight and minimizing avenues
for the abuse of power, dealing firmly with all that relates to corruption and
violations of the law, conducting awareness campaigns via the media and
education to rectify misconceptions on corruption, and reinforcing reform
mechanisms. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau is tasked with
formulating and monitoring policies of the action plan, assisting and
coordinating among anti-corruption institutions, in addition to cooperation
at all regional and international levels to combat corruption.
The Yemeni Experience: Yemeni anti-corruption efforts can be summed
up as follows: Yemen's contribution to the drafting of the UN Convention
Against Corruption which Yemen ratified in 2005, raising public awareness
to combat corruption, educating future generations in the importance of
integrity, implementing financial, administrative and economic reform
programs, enacting laws governing financial disclosures, combating
corruption, and money laundering, and amending applicable anti-corruption
laws. The Yemeni Supreme Anti-Corruption Authority is financially and
administratively independent and its decisions are binding. It is tasked with
preparing and implementing anti-corruption policies, developing a
comprehensive anti-corruption strategy and the mechanisms to implement
it, ensuring the role of State institutions, especially the judiciary, civil
society and the media in eliminating corruption, receiving complaints and
attempting to remedy them, implementing relevant international
agreements, representing Yemen in international forums, and coordinating
with different countries participating in international programs to combat
corruption, especially Arab countries.
Moroccan Experience: Morocco's anti-corruption efforts can be summed
up as follows: implementing the UN Convention Against Corruption and
related anti-corruption policies, enhancing community partnership,
upholding the rule of law, sound management of public affairs and
properties, and enforcing the principles of integrity, transparency and
accountability. The institutional framework for combating corruption
includes Control and Auditing authorities, Grievances Authority, Financial
Information Processing Authority, Special Courts, and the Central
Authority for the Prevention of Bribery. Morocco prepared its first national
anti-corruption plan in 2005, and the Central Authority for the Prevention of
Bribery defined the strategic directions of this plan and translated them into
a short and medium-term work program, and also embarked on
coordination and cooperation at the international level to combat corruption
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and benefit from successful global experiences in this regard. The program
aims at strengthening principles of transparency and integrity as well as the
national system supporting them, honor Morocco's commitments vis-à-vis
the international community, improve Morocco's rating according to global
indicators, ensure involvement of all members of the society in combating
corruption and bribery, and cement related communication mechanisms
while developing tracking, control and auditing systems.
The Singaporean Experience: The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau
is tasked with analyzing the gaps in practices and procedures in place which
facilitate corruption. The success of the Singaporean experience can be
attributed to the interaction among the combinations of political will, anticorruption authorities, legislation, the judiciary, strength of popular support,
management, and good governance. The improvement of supervision and
monitoring mechanisms is being carried out, as well as improving the
efficacy of State institutions tasked with combating corruption, which
includes training officers and establishing specialized agencies for
monitoring, oversight and investigation.
Third: Citizens' Complaints Management Systems
The Session was chaired by Ms. Fatma Bourhan Eldin, Acting Public
Financial Prosecutor in Sudan. Speakers for this theme were from Morocco,
Yemen, Singapore, and Egypt.

The Moroccan Experience: It is based on providing avenues of
communication between citizens and competent authorities to enhance
citizens' engagement in reporting corruption cases. It commits
departments to be open and transparent in managing public affairs, in
both official institutions such as the Central Authority for the
Prevention of Bribery, and non-official institutions in civil society
such as the Moroccan Society for Combating Bribery. Moroccan Law
has vested every citizen with the right to lodge a complaint or
grievance with the authority concerned in the event its employees are
in breach of job regulations or are suspected of bribery, embezzlement
or abuse of power. Local State authorities are required by law to
cooperate in providing anti-corruption authorities with all documents
and necessary information to help them carry out their mission.
Moroccan law specifies special criteria for the filing of petitions, as
well as their examination, probing and remedy, provided they are
written.

The Yemeni Experience: The Yemeni Supreme Anti-Corruption
Authority receives citizens' complaints through a number of methods
that include meeting petitioners in person. It records information, and
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documents and examines all incoming petitions to indicate the extent
to which they fall within its capacities. It analyzes these petitions to
determine methods to remedy them subject to law, while at the same
time guaranteeing the protection of witnesses and petitioners.

The Singaporean Experience: The Corrupt Practices Investigation
Bureau, an independent institution, investigates and combats
corruption in both public and private institutions. It receives citizens'
complaints via ordinary mail, a hot line, e-mail, or a personal petition.
The Bureau examines all complaints, anonymous or otherwise, in
order to ascertain their validity, and ensures the protection of
petitioners, while punishing applicants of non-authentic claims.

The Egyptian Experience: The Egyptian Constitution provides for
citizens' right to lodge complaints. There are a number of institutions
charged with combating corruption in Egypt, which include the
Central Auditing Organization, the Administrative Prosecution, and
the Administrative Control Authority. The latter operates as an
independent entity affiliated with the Prime Minister and exercises
administrative, financial and technical oversight, and pursues
perpetrators of crimes. It is competent to receive and examine
complaints lodged by citizens regarding violations of the law or job
derelictions and their suggestions to ameliorate services. The
Authority receives approximately 30 to 35 thousand complaints
annually, and issues its reply within one month of the receipt of each
complaint, while referring complaints whose authenticity has been
ascertained for investigation. Complaints submitted by citizens may be
either written or verbal, though standard procedure requires that
complaints be signed and of known origin. Anonymous complaints are
shelved, with the exception of those that include critical information
which requires investigation. The Authority also receives citizens'
complaints through ordinary mail, email, fax, or by hand, while
keeping confidential the identity of the complainant and witnesses and
ensuring their protection. In this regard, Egypt is currently in the
process of enacting legislation for the protection of witnesses and
complainants.
Fourth: Communication Mechanisms between Citizens and Institutional
Frameworks to Combat Corruption:
The Session was chaired by Ambassador Raouf Saad, Senior Assistant Foreign
Minister and General Coordinator of the Workshop. Speakers for this theme
were from Thailand, the Phillipines, and Lebanon.
Ambassador Saad made an introductory statement in which he referred to the
following main points:
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
Citizens' complaints constitute a primary source of information for the
exposure of corruption.

Regulating the process of communication between citizens and anticorruption agencies increases the credibility of both sides, which
depends on the validity and seriousness of citizens' complaints, as well
as the effectiveness of dealing with those complaints on the part of the
agencies.
Sound management of the relationship between citizens and anticorruption agencies, as well as the establishment of a framework for
the protection of citizens, accentuates citizens' feeling of national
ownership, thus laying the groundwork for the practice of real
democracy.


This exchange of information and experiences among Dialogue
Countries adds to the current cooperation and coordination among
AMED countries.
Discussions of this Theme included presentation of models of these
mechanisms in some Dialogue Countries as follows:
The Thai Experience: Communication channels between citizens and the
National Anti-corruption Commission include the Commission's website, email, and a hot line. The Commission depends in its conduct of
investigations into corruption cases on the defendant's right to appeal
against the formation of the council appointed by the Commission to
investigate the case. The Commission informs public opinion on its
activities through such channels as the media, workshops, and symposiums.
It may request banks to disclose assets owned by State officials, and it
communicates with the private sector within the framework of social
corporate responsibility with regards to combating corruption. The
Commission also ensures the confidentiality of witnesses' statements in
corruption cases, and encourages the role of civil society in combating
corruption through guaranteeing freedom of information.
The Experience of the Philippines: The Office of the Ombudsman is one
of the most important anti-corruption institutions in the Philippines. It is
tasked with investigating cases brought against public officials, specifically
any act or omission of any public official, employee, office or agency which
appears to be illegal, unjust, improper, or inefficient. It is fully independent,
and all other agencies coordinate with the Office of the Ombudsman in the
course of investigation by referring relevant cases to the Office either for
investigation or adjudication. The Office of the Ombudsman also
coordinates with specialized bodies in gathering evidence for corruption
cases. Citizens may communicate with the Office by filing complaints
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through the internet, or using a hotline designated for this purpose, or
applying to one of the area offices in the Philippines, or any other anticorruption institution affiliated to the Office. The Office refers the
complaint to the appropriate office or bureau for investigation and case
build up. The Office is competent to consider all complaints and cases
submitted to it, even those not relating to corruption, but with suspicion of
illegal, unjust, improper, or inefficient activity. Complaints not involving
corruption are referred to the competent authority for investigation.
The Lebanese Experience: Mechanisms for communication between
citizens and institutional anti-corruption frameworks grant subordinates the
right to refuse to execute an illegal decision taken by senior officers by
filing a complaint to the Central Inspection Authority. The subordinate may
also file a complaint to the State Consultative (Shura) Council if he deems
the decision taken by the senior officer to be of harm to the public interest.
Citizens may file complaints in person or by mail, email, or fax, or through
invoking the Central Inspection Authority to act via the media. The
Republic Intermediary Authority, established in 2005 though not yet
operational, is expected to be the best means of communication between
citizens and anti-corruption institutions.
In addition, Lebanon has developed a series of draft laws that ensure the
ability of anti-corruption institutions to act on citizens' complaints. These
include a law vesting citizens with the right to review administrative files,
amendments to the illicit wealth law which enable any citizen to file a
complaint to the financial public prosecution (this right was formerly
limited to those directly affected cases of illicit wealth), a law on the
conflict of interests which punishes public officials who take advantage of
their position to do harm to public interest. Civil society and the media in
Lebanon play an active role in raising the level of awareness regarding
corruption and disclosing corruption cases especially in the private sector.
The Saudi Experience: Popular initiatives to enhance the values of
transparency and integrity are a cornerstone of the Saudi experience.
Examples of these initiatives include the "Saafa Prize" awarded to
corporations, institutions, and government and non-government
organizations that offer role models for transparency, in addition to a
special "conscientious fund" linked to an account in a Saudi local bank
where anyone can anonymously deposit any amount of money they feel
they have taken without merit.
The Egyptian Experience: Recent developments in the legislative and
institutional framework for combating corruption include the establishment
of the Committee on Transparency and Integrity at the Ministry of
Administrative Development in 2007, the drafting of a new law regulating
government employees, as well as the drafting of a law nominating a
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mediator in government bodies to act as an intermediary between the
government and citizens, and empowered to receive and investigate
complaints from the latter with regard to the performance of civil servants.
At the end of discussions, the Workshop reached the following results:

 First: Conclusions of discussions
Genuine political will, the appropriate legal environment, an efficient
judicial system, an effective institutional framework, and popular support
are prerequisites for the effective combating of corruption.

Administrative and institutional reform is associated with anti-corruption
efforts. This includes improvement of corporate governance in order to
improve the efficiency of State institutions and the private sector while
furthering their interaction with citizens' desires and ambitions.

Combating corruption requires, on a personal level, devotion to one's job.
It also requires improving citizens' standard of living, filling the legal and
regulatory gaps that permit corruption, ensuring an objective selection
process for officials to fill leading positions, raising awareness of the risks
of corruption, ensuring transparency in government procurements and
expenditure as well as in the circulation of information, the application of
governance standards in administrations and the elaboration of codes of
conduct for civil servants, establishing cooperation among the signatories
to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, as well as holding
meetings with the participation of entities concerned with combating
corruption in AMED countries.

Corruption constitutes a crime, a violation of human rights, and
undermines justice. It also impedes governments' efforts to achieve the
UN Millennium Development Goals.
There exists a direct link between combating corruption and the success of
development efforts, including poverty reduction, supporting social
security networks, and bolstering partnership between official and nonofficial institutions.


Recognition of the important role played by UN organizations with
special emphasis on the UNDP and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in
extending technical and material assistance to governments to consolidate
their efforts in combating corruption and enhancing coordination among
anti-corruption agencies.

The important role of the citizen in exposing corruption, and the
substantial contribution of civil society in combating it, which needs to be
reinforced by both ensuring freedom of information and giving effect to
the supervisory role of these organizations and the media.
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
The importance of legal frameworks that support mechanisms of
communication between citizens and anti-corruption institutions, which
ensure transparency, protect petitioners and witnesses in corruption cases,
and guarantee action on citizens' complaints on the part of anti-corruption
institutions, thus contributing to the promotion of integrity and the
prevention of corruption.

The importance of developing a code of conduct for the private sector and
deepening the principles of economic freedom and competitiveness for
combating corruption.

The vital role of education and school curricula in building generations as
well as a culture that disapproves of corruption, in addition to the
important role of the media in exposing cases of corruption.

The importance of developing an effective institutional framework to
monitor government, ensuring accountability of government officials and
policies to the public, and achieving transparency in public management
of resources and the State budget.

The importance of administrative modernization, and of periodic change
in personnel occupying leading posts that entice corruption.
The importance of complementing the role of oversight institutions with
the administrative system of the State.


Anti-corruption proceedings should neither be selective nor retaliatory,
and should not cover up sources of actual corruption. In addition, popular
initiatives are important in consolidating the values of transparency and
integrity.
Second: Proposals to promote cooperation among Dialogue Countries
1-
Develop institutional arrangements to combat corruption in Dialogue
Countries through the following:

Enhance cooperation among different control authorities in Dialogue
Countries in the exchange of data and information related to advanced
mechanisms in the area of preventing corruption.

Assess the effectiveness of policies applied by competent authorities in
Dialogue Countries.

Enhance cooperation and exchange of know-how between anticorruption agencies, given that the world financial crisis has proven
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
the overlap between public and private sectors and their mutual
violations.
Enhance the utilization of advanced technology to promote
transparency and integrity by establishing electronic links connecting
anti-corruption bodies (control, investigation and law-enforcement).

Ensure the availability of the reports of control agencies to citizens.
2 – Promotion of Transparency and Integrity in the Administrative Body in
Dialogue Countries through:







Develop, adopt, and apply codes of conduct for civil servants as a
mechanism for measuring and monitoring their performance and as a
guarantee to extend quality services to citizens.
Upgrade and activate reporting systems with regards to financial and
administrative breaches.
Emphasize the observance of transparency and integrity in
administrative appointments and government procurements in all State
bodies.
Strengthen multi-level oversight and control processes to ensure
avoidance of the abuse of power.
Improve wages of civil servants with a view to filling legal and
organizational gaps giving way to financial and administrative
breaches.
Adopt automated systems in providing data and information, thus
promoting transparency and ensuring accountability.
Upgrading the performance of administrative government by
improving interaction among anti-corruption institutions on the one
hand, and between them and citizens on the other.
3- Strengthening and finalizing the Legislative Framework for preventing
and combating corruption;

Coupling anti-corruption provisions and legislation with applications
on the ground which either could be institutional in nature or carried
out through streamlining administrative processes by introducing more
innovative and suitable mechanisms to ensure citizens' access to
government services in their respective places and at the lowest
possible cost.

The legal response to breaches should be commensurate with their
gravity, and law enforcement should be strictly observed if the entity
concerned fails to correct its breaches.
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
Promoting citizens' access to justice through automated court
administration programs.
4- Raising awareness of the risks of corruption:



Coordinate efforts to raise awareness of the risks of corruption.
Enhance the role of citizens and civil society in monitoring financial
crimes and violations.
Build and promote a culture of respecting citizens' rights by dealing
decisively with employees charged with bribery and infringement of
citizens' rights.
5- Increased partnership and international cooperation through:



Enhancing cooperation among AMED Countries in areas of
preventing and combating corruption, especially with regards to
improving the effectiveness and capacity of anti-corruption agencies,
while ensuring continued exchange of experiences among AMED
countries in this regard.
Enhance anti-corruption networks in Dialogue Countries, while
benefiting from e-networks and citizens' blogs to raise public
awareness of corruption.
Exchanging strategies of combating corruption, especially with
regards to expanding the role of the media and communication, and
enhancing corporate governance.
6- Proposals of the Egyptian Ministry of Administrative Development
for enhancing cooperation among Dialogue Countries

Establish an e-forum on the AMED link of the website of the Egyptian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate discussion of challenges and
obstacles facing anti-corruption institutions, as well as the exchange of
expertise and best practices in combating corruption,

Conduct a comparative study between the Committee on Transparency
and Integrity at the Ministry of State for Administrative Development
and similar organs in Dialogue Countries on the institutional
arrangements applied in these countries governing the exchange of
information and the promulgation of anti-corruption strategies.

Organize a workshop on building capacities of senior and middle
management in anti-corruption institutions in the area of government
service governance, especially those related to the achievement of the
UN Millennium Development Goals.
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
Organize a workshop on the evaluation of skill-promoting and
capacity-building programs of civil servants in institutions mandated
to oversee, investigate and enforce the law.

Organize a workshop on technical methods and information
technology systems applied in handling citizens' complaints, and their
development.
At the closing of the Session, Ambassador Raouf Saad informed
participants that Egypt will duly provide the delegations of AMED
countries with the Chairman's report on the proceedings of the workshop.
Egypt will then develop an executive action plan that will include the main
items proposed for follow up and implementation, such that AMED
countries may opt to sponsor activities included in the action plan.
Ambassador Saad expressed deep appreciation for the valuable participation
of delegates on a number of important issues discussed in the workshop that
have a direct impact on government efforts in development, social security,
and poverty reduction. He also expressed Egypt's hope that the outcomes of
this workshop will form part of a concerted effort on the part of AMED
countries to deal with the issues raised through continued cooperation, and
would add to the cooperation efforts among them.
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