Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana held a conference on "Partnership for Civil Service Excellence." 

Alikhan Baimenov, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Regional Hub of Civil Service in Astana, Norimasa Shimomura, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan, Talgat Donakov, Minister for Civil Service Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Traian Hristea, Head of the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan opened the conference with introductory remarks.

In his opening remark Director for Public Governance and Territorial Development of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Rolf Alter highlighted the essential role of the Regional Hub in the promotion of professional civil service. "Since its establishment  the Hub has become a respected multilateral institutional platform for the continuous exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of civil service development, aiming to stimulate civil service transformation in the region, through capacity development activities, and by disseminating innovative approaches to civil service reform," - noted Mr. Alter. In their speeches Ambassadors of Canada, France and the Republic of Korea to Kazakhstan also noted the significance of the Hub in strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the field of civil service.

Representatives from more than 30 countries attended the conference, including such well-known experts in the field of civil service as Executive Director, American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) William P. Shields Jr., Chairman of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) Drago Kos, Director, UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence, UNDP Singapore Max Everest-Phillips and Distinguished Professor of Public Administration of the Chinese Academy of Governance Song Shiming.

During the event the sides exchanged views and experience on civil service excellence, and  discussed the ways of strengthening regional partnerships and the development of an experts network. 

Heads of the authorized bodies of the Regional hub state-members, including Director of the Civil Service Bureau of Georgia Catherine Kardava, Head of National Agency for Civil Service of Ukraine Kostiantyn Vashchenko, Councellor to the Prime Minister, Civil Service Department, Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Krzysztof  Banas, Permanent Member of the Civil Service Council of Mongolia Khadkhuu Togmid and others shared their visions for the development of partnership in the field of civil service.

Participants were given the opportunity to consider new and innovative solutions and experiences of different countries in this field and ideas for further development of partnership in the framework of the Regional Hub, which was marked by them as an effective institutional platform for the incessant exchange of experience and knowledge in the field of civil service.

The conference was also attended by representatives of the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry for Civil Service Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other state bodies of Kazakhstan, UNDP, OECD, ASPA, the EU and the diplomatic missions accredited in Kazakhstan.