Ilham Aliyev received group of participants of Baku session of CIS Council of Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today received a group of participants of the Baku-hosted 17th session of the Council of Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The head of state noted the importance of the organization of the 17th session of the CIS Council of Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions in Baku.

Pointing out the necessity of exchange of experience in the area of audit between the CIS countries, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the countries faced similar problems during the period of transition and reforms.

"Discussions to be held at the session are of pivotal importance in terms of addressing the audit problems facing the CIS countries and, of course, further improvement of the state control mechanism requires tight coordination. This event also creates a good opportunity for the visitors to closely familiarize themselves with the work recently done in the field of audit in Azerbaijan."

The head of state noted that apart from state control much attention is paid to public control over spending.

Pointing out the global economic and financial crisis continuing over the recent years, President Ilham Aliyev noted that all these processes necessitate further optimization of public spending. "And a great deal of responsibility in this regard rests with the Audit Institutions of our countries."

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that the event will feature constructive and fruitful discussions and exchange of experience.

Chair of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova hailed the beauty of Baku, saying she was deeply impressed by the development processes in the country.

Tatyana Golikova thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the hospitality shown to them and for organizing the 17th session of the CIS Council of Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions in Azerbaijan. She noted that the issues to be discussed at the session are of crucial importance, adding that the key task is to improve the efficiency. "Cooperation between our countries plays an important role in this regard," she said.

Tatyana Golikova underlined the importance of cooperation and mutual exchange of views between the audit institutions of the CIS countries.