The National Assembly Budget Office hosted the opening ceremony of the 2nd NABO-OECD Annual Conference of Asian Parliamentary Budget Officials (PBOs) in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 25, in Conference Room 1 of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building. The conference ran until Friday, April 26, with the theme of "The Budget Process and the Role of Parliament."

In his opening remarks, Mr. Euysup Cho, Chief of NABO, expressed his hope that the conference would serve as an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of parliamentary support activities by examining the budget process and the role of PBOs in each country. In his congratulatory remarks, Mr. Kim Jin-pyo, Speaker of the National Assembly of Korea, emphasized the importance of PBOs in the budget process and expressed his hope for the growth of the Asian PBOs network through in-depth discussions among participating nations.

The event included a keynote speech by Mr. Mark Hadley, Chair of the OECD PBOs Network, and a panel discussion moderated by Chief Cho. Following the keynote, a panel discussion featured Mr. Jon Blondal, Head of Public Management and Budgeting Division at the OECD, Ms. Chanthy Nop, Director of the Cambodian Senate’s Research Department, and Ms. Chrysanthe Psychogios, Assistant Parliamentary Budget Officer at the Australian PBO. They discussed the role of PBOs in supporting rational decision-making and enhancing parliamentary effectiveness.

During the afternoon session, participants engaged in in-depth discussions on (1) the role of parliaments and PBOs in budget formulation and deliberation, (2) strategies to strengthen PBOs’ capacity to establish fiscal competence, and (3) the development of a cost estimation system to support rational decision-making.

"We hope that the various cases and discussions presented at this second annual conference will provide valuable for the work of PBOs in each country, and we remain committed to expanding the Asian PBO network through close cooperation with the OECD and participating countries," stated Chief Cho.