OSCE supports workshop on open budget data for achieving sustainable development goals

An OSCE-supported workshop on open budget data for the Sustainable Development Goals concluded on 13 September 2019 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan in partnership with the Zertteu Research Institute and Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan.

Some 40 representatives of Kazakhstan’s civil society and government agencies attended the event. They discussed the role of open budget data to achieve sustainable development goals. The workshop aimed to summarize the results of the Open Budget Data overview in Kazakhstan and involved speakers from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine who presented international experience in the development of open budget data with a focus on ensuring transparency and public participation in the budget formation process.

During the meeting the government representatives emphasized the role of technology in fiscal transparency and presented a citizens budget guidebook. Stakeholders also discussed the national action plan within Open Government Partnership, including mechanisms for implementation and future reforms.

The training seminar is part of the Programme Office’s multi-year efforts to promote good governance by focusing on anti-corruption activities in Kazakhstan.