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A high-level forum bringing together supreme audit institutions from the European Union’s Eastern Partnership countries and Uzbekistan was held in Latvia on 18 August 2026, with Uzbekistan represented by a delegation led by M. Abdullayev, First Deputy Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže opened the forum by stressing the role of strong and effective public governance in underpinning European security and stability. Speakers underlined that developing and strengthening state financial control and external audit institutions, and embedding international standards within them, are essential conditions for effective governance — and that progress in those areas builds public trust, improves the use of public funds, and supports investment and economic growth.
A decade of institutional cooperation
The forum highlighted Latvia’s long-running cooperation with Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Uzbekistan in the field of state audit. Latvia’s State Audit Office has operated a development-cooperation project since 2016 aimed at building the capacity of supreme audit institutions across the EU Eastern Partnership and in Uzbekistan. What began as discrete training events on the application of ISSAI international auditing standards has since grown into a framework of long-term institutional partnership.
Cooperation between the audit institutions of Uzbekistan and Latvia now includes a Plan of Practical Activities covering 2026 to 2028, encompassing work on audit methodology, adoption of international standards, professional development of auditors, and the exchange of best practice.
Uzbekistan’s regional role acknowledged
Participants gave particular attention to Uzbekistan’s place in the broader EU–Central Asia relationship, noting its significance for regional stability and for expanding transport and trade links. Reforms under way in Uzbekistan aimed at improving governance, efficiency and transparency were assessed positively at the forum.
On Ukraine and Moldova, the forum noted that strengthening public financial management and external audit systems is integral to their EU accession processes, and that sustaining reforms, upholding the rule of law and improving public finance management remain central to those efforts.
On the sidelines, the Uzbek Accounts Chamber delegation held a series of bilateral meetings with Latvian state bodies, the State Audit Office and other partner organisations, focusing on expanding practical cooperation, implementing audit standards and exchanging experience in public financial management.