On September 2, the International Seminar on Desertification Prevention and Sustainable Development Audit was successfully held in Yulin, Shaanxi Province of China. Hou Kai, Auditor General of the National Audit Office of China and Zhao Gang, Governor of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government attended the event and delivered keynote speeches. Vasily Gerasimov, Chairman of the State Control Committee of Belarus, Jamshed Karimzoda, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of Tajikistan and Monthien Charoenpol, Auditor General of the State Audit Office of Thailand also presented at the event as guest speakers, who were joined by Feng Laifa, General Manager of China Energy Investment Corporation.

Hou Kai pointed out that protecting the environment and tackling climate change are shared challenges facing the world, and that combating desertification is a key part of that effort. He stressed that SAIs should strengthen exchanges and cooperation, facilitate high-quality audits to support global efforts to meet international commitments on desertification, and accomplish relevant UN SDGs.

The seminar also featured a workshop on the same topic for over 60 auditors from 24 SAIs. Experts, scholars, and auditors shared their respective experiences on desertification control and sustainable development. Participants also visited relevant projects of Yulin, which demonstrated remarkable achievements of audit institutions and local governments in advancing ecological sustainable development in China. The seminar has completed the initial formulation of a research report on desertification control and sustainable development audit, which will be further refined and subsequently shared within the ASOSAI and INTOSAI working groups on environmental auditing.