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Courtesey call at GIV's office
On 5 – 7 March 2019, a delegation from the Thai Ombudsman office, headed by Mr. Raksagecha Chaechai, Secretary-General, went on a working visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, and met with key officials of the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam (GIV), fellow Ombudsman colleague in another member State of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The delegation was warmly received by H.E. Mr. Lê Minh Khai, Inspector General, and H.E. Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy Inspector general, and other executives of GIV.
The visit included a high-level policy meeting between both parties emphasing on the establishment of a formal bilateral cooperation, which should follow by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); and the establishment of the ASEAN Ombudsman Forum (AOF), an initiative proposed by the Thai Ombudsman to bring together Ombudsman colleagues in ASEAN member States. These include the Thai and Indonesian Ombudsman offices, both are IOI members; as well as the Public Complaints Bureau of Malaysia and the GIV.
It should be noted that the Thai delegation also visited the Inspectorate of Quang Ninh province and exchanged knowledge and best practices on the handling of complaints.
This visit marks a significant step towards closer collaboration between both Ombudsman institutions and the establishment of AOF as the Thai Ombudsman has approached all prospective founding members. This initiative is expected to move forward with further upcoming dialogues on AOF’s scope of cooperation and mechanisms.
Source: Office of the Ombudsman, Thailand
