Mongolia Plans to Produce 90 Million Tons of Coal This Year www.montsame.mn

 This year, Mongolia plans to produce 90 million tons of coal, 1.9 million tons of copper concentrate, and 9.4 million tons of iron ore.
It was also reported that there are currently 1,031 valid mineral exploration licenses and 1,771 mining licenses in the country. The information was presented during a discussion on the implementation of policies and activities of the industrial and mineral resources sector for 2026.
The discussion was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Development Enkhbayar Jadambaa, as well as Deputy Minister of Economy and Development Davaasuren Sodnomdarjaa. Participants exchanged views on the sector’s policies, ongoing projects and programs, and activities planned for this year.
Deputy Minister Davaasuren noted that the ratio of exploration and mining licenses is reversed, which poses risks to the sector’s development, and inquired of Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Damdinnyam Gongor about how much time and budget are to be spent to normalize the ratio.
In response, the authorities of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIMR) emphasized that increasing investment in geological exploration is essential to strengthening the sector’s long-term capacity and should be reflected in the budget framework. They noted that countries with mining-dependent economies follow international best practices by ensuring stable financing for geological exploration. Revising the methodology for calculating the mineral royalty and introducing the international practice of allocating a certain share to local communities where mining operations are taking place would contribute to local development and enhance public understanding and support.
At the end of the meeting, participants agreed to continue collaboration to improve policy coordination in the mining and industrial sectors, support economic growth, and create a favorable investment environment.
The MIMR has announced 2026 as the “Year of Policy Reform.” Within the framework of Mongolia’s 14 mega projects, six major projects are currently being implemented, including the Mongolia–France joint uranium project, coal-chemical and coke-chemical complexes, copper and steel projects, an oil refinery complex, and a gold refining plant. In addition, amendments and revised versions of the Minerals Law, the Heavy Industry Law, the Petroleum Law, and the Petroleum Products Law are planned to be submitted to the Parliament for consideration during its spring session to increase investment and improve the business environment.
The mining sector accounts for 26 percent of Mongolia’s GDP and 79 percent of total industrial output, while contributing 95.4 percent of export revenues, 74 percent of foreign direct investment, and 28.4 percent of consolidated budget revenues. Between 2015 and 2024, Mongolia attracted MNT 99.38 trillion in foreign investment, approximately 80 percent of which went to the mining sector.

Mining Sector Week Opens, Planned Legal Reforms Outlined www.montsame.mn

A “Mining Sector Week” event was launched on January 26, 2026, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Development, the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia (MRPAM), and the Mining Association. The event aims to improve investment conditions in the mining sector in line with government policy, protect investors’ legitimate interests, and strengthen public–private partnerships.
Opening the week, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Damdinyam Gongor stated that the mining sector is introducing multifaceted policy reforms to shift from extraction to processing, to produce value-added products, increase exports, and boost tax revenues. He also highlighted the sector’s contribution to the national economy.
Specifically, the mining sector accounts for 26 percent of GDP, 79 percent of industrial output, 95.4 percent of export revenues, 74 percent of foreign direct investment, and 28.4 percent of consolidated budget revenues. According to the ministry, of the MNT 99.38 trillion in foreign investment attracted between 2015 and 2024, nearly 80 percent went to the mining sector.
The minister noted that preparations are underway to revise mining and industrial policies, as well as amend the Law on Minerals, in the coming years. Public consultations to gather public proposals and feedback on the draft concept of the amendments, will be held this week.
He explained that, alongside amendments to the Law on Minerals, several related laws are being prepared. Subsequently, the Law on Heavy Industry, the Law on Petroleum, and the Law on Petroleum Products will be revised. The objective is to move away from exporting raw materials toward processing minerals domestically and producing final products, thereby increasing value addition and retaining greater benefits from natural resources within the country. These legislative changes will align with the government’s broader Investment Law and Business Support Law, forming a core pillar of state policy.

13 people freeze to death in Mongolia in January www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia has recorded 13 hypothermia deaths in January 2026, the country's National Police Agency (NPA) said on Tuesday.
Half of the victims had drunk alcohol, the NPA said in a statement.
Alcohol ingestion was the main cause of hypothermia during cold exposure, it added.
Since mid-January, a cold air mass originating in Siberia, Russia, swept across large parts of Mongolia, bringing frosts and causing temperature drops.
On Jan. 21, overnight temperatures plummeted to minus 45.2 degrees Celsius in Eruu soum, an administrative subdivision of the northern Mongolian province of Selenge, according to the country's weather monitoring agency.
Mongolia's harsh and cold winter lasts for quite a long time. Temperature can range between minus 25 degrees Celsius and minus 45 degrees Celsius.

Mongolia to host AFC Asian Cup 2029 qualifiers www.gogo.mn

The Mongolian Basketball Association announced that Mongolia has secured the right to host Group D of the 2029 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
The tournament will take place from August 24 to September 1, with Thailand, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Fiji competing. The top three teams from the group will advance to the second round.
Mongolia previously hosted the qualifiers from 2022 to 2025, according to the association.

Mongolian Bankhar Wins Asian Championship www.montsame.mn

A Mongolian Bankhar won first place at the Asian Dog Championship held in Manila, the Philippines.
Specifically, the two-year-old male Bankhar named “Myangan Naiz Demuul” competed in eight events, winning group champion titles in seven and placing second in one. It also earned the title of Champion of the Philippines. In addition, it was placed in seven of the eight shows, taking third place in one show.
This year’s Asian Championship featured 600 dogs from 40 breeds. The competition includes multiple categories, with events divided by age, sex, and skill level.
It is worth noting that two years ago, the dog’s father became a group champion at the “World Dog Show 2024.”

Why Did Mongolia Join Trump’s Board of Peace? www.thediplomat.com

While the United States’ democratic allies stayed away, the Zandanshatar administration become a founding member of the new body.
Mongolia’s Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav attended the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. While there, Mongolia officially joined the U.S.-initiated Board of Peace as one of the founding members. Mongolia’s swift move to join the newly forming international organization is drawing some criticism, but the government emphasizes that the membership aligns with Ulaanbaatar’s flexible, multi-pillared foreign policy, and protects its national interest.

On January 22, on the margins of Davos, the U.S. President Donald J. Trump launched the Board of Peace. The board was initially designed to oversee the U.N.-approved  20-point Gaza Peace Plan and reconstruction of Gaza; it has now turned into an early stage of an international cooperative body that aims to resolve other, as-yet-unspecified global conflicts.
Enkhzul
Afterward, the Zandanshatar administration defended its participation.

“The Board of Peace is not a military alliance but a voluntary cooperation platform based on respect for national sovereignty, fully consistent with Mongolia’s independent, peace-centered and multi-pillared foreign policy,” it said in a statement.

The Office of the Prime Minister told The Diplomat that “Mongolia’s joining to the Board of Peace also demonstrates its independent foreign policy mechanism.” 

Zandanshatar government’s official press release highlighted three key points for Mongolia’s decision to join the Board of Peace. First, it said that “Mongolia’s support for a new, flexible, and result-oriented peace mechanism will strengthen Mongolia’s international position and provide an opportunity to make its voice heard more clearly.”
Enkhzul
Second, the administration pointed to Mongolia’s long experience in international peacekeeping operations through the United Nations. The statement said that the Board of Peace “is not a military alliance, but rather based on voluntary cooperation and respect for the sovereignty of states, which is fully consistent with Mongolia’s peace-promoting, independent, and multi-pillared foreign policy.”

Finally, the the Zandanshatar administration sought to head off potential criticism about the cost, given that Trump had demanded a payment of $1 billion for permanent seats on the Board of Peace. That payment does not apply to states that are content with a temporary, three-year membership, the Mongolian government statement said. “It is not a mandatory condition… Mongolia does not have to make financial commitments to this extent and is fully able to participate as an ordinary member for a period of 3 years, on a voluntary basis, in a manner that suits its capabilities and interests.”

Ulaanbaatar might be jumping the gun. Other states are still reviewing the newly forming Board of Peace. Mongolia’s strategic partners such as Japan, South Korea, Poland, and many of its European partners are assessing the Charter and the way that the Board of Peace will operate.

From the standpoint of Mongolia-U.S. bilateral relations, Mongolia’s membership on the Board of Peace is a continuation of the strategic partnership that was established during Trump’s first term in 2019.  

“Joining this initiative at its initial stage as a founding member would provide Mongolia with a strategic advantage,” the deputy chief of Mission to the Mongolian Embassy in the United States, Battushig Zanabazar, told The Diplomat. “Since the Board represents one of the key initiatives of the Trump administration to promote peace and stability, Mongolia’s early support and participation would send a tangible positive signal to the U.S. administration.”

By Bolor Lkhaajav

Mongolian banking sector's net external assets down 0.1 pct in December 2025 www.xinhuanet.com

The Mongolian banking sector's net foreign assets fell 0.1 percent year-on-year to reach 8.7 trillion Mongolian tugriks (2.4 billion U.S. dollars) in December 2025, the country's National Statistics Office (NSO) said on Monday.
During the period, the net domestic assets of Mongolia's banks amounted to 38.4 trillion tugriks (10.77 billion dollars), which represents an increase of 11 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the cumulative savings within Mongolian commercial banks demonstrated a robust performance, reaching a total volume of 26 trillion tugriks (7.29 billion dollars) by the end of December 2025.
It is noted that the Mongolian tugrik savings experienced a substantial uptick, surging by 18.3 percent, while dollar savings exhibited a more modest increase of 16 percent.
Currently, there are about 1,500 branches of 12 commercial banks operating in Mongolia.

Kazakhstan, Mongolia Reaffirm Commitment to Boost Trade to $500 Million www.astanatimes.com

Kazakhstan and Mongolia reaffirmed their commitment to increasing bilateral trade turnover to $500 million, as Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin met with Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Khassuuri Gankhuyag on Jan. 24.
Zhumangarin described Mongolia as an important partner for Kazakhstan in the Asian region, noting that bilateral relations have consistently developed in a spirit of mutual respect and trust rooted in deep historical ties, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
The talks focused on trade and economic cooperation as the foundation of the Kazakh-Mongolian partnership, including the shared goal of increasing bilateral trade turnover to $500 million in the medium term. The counterparts expressed confidence that this target can be achieved by expanding the range of mutual supplies, developing cooperation projects, and gradually eliminating trade and administrative barriers.
From January to November 2025, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Mongolia reached $121.5 million, an increase of 5.5%. Kazakhstan’s exports totaled $113 million and included tobacco products, rapeseed, bread, flour, confectionery products, food products, oilseeds, as well as engines and mechanical engineering goods. Imports from Mongolia amounted to $8.6 million and consisted mainly of meat and meat products, cashmere, footwear, carpets, and wool products.
To further increase trade turnover, Kazakhstan plans to send a trade mission to Mongolia to establish direct business contacts and present its industrial and free economic zones, as well as its export potential.
The officials also highlighted the strong potential for cooperation in agriculture. Discussions covered expanding exports of Kazakhstan’s agricultural products and exploring opportunities to supply veterinary vaccines, including the possibility of localizing their production in Mongolia.
Gankhuyag, in turn, emphasized Kazakhstan’s strategic importance to Mongolia as a regional partner and expressed confidence that bilateral cooperation would intensify this year. He underscored Kazakhstan’s role as a link between Mongolia and Central Asia and voiced interest in establishing a joint working group to identify and remove non-tariff barriers. The Mongolian side also expressed interest in deepening cooperation in standardization, veterinary protection, and livestock farming.

Is Investor Protection Center a promise or practical solution? www.ubpost.mn

As part of the Government’s economic reform agenda, the Investor Protection Center has been established under the Ministry of Economy and Development with the stated goal of strengthening the legal rights of both domestic and foreign investors and improving the overall investment environment. Foreign investment is often perceived by the public as meaning “the country has sold off its wealth”. Yet an even more pressing question is whether such a center can operate effectively in a country that has earned an international reputation for pursuing, pressuring, and in some cases even imprisoning investors. This concern is compounded by the fact that Mongolia has limited alternatives for attracting capital beyond the mining sector.
Over the past 30 years, Mongolia has received more than 50 billion USD in foreign direct investment, approximately 80 percent of which has gone into mining. This heavy concentration raises doubts about whether the country has successfully diversified its economy, invested sufficiently in broader infrastructure, built cooperative relationships with investors, or created a stable and predictable legal environment outside of the extractive industries.
Speaking at the opening of the center, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Development J.Enkhbayar emphasized the critical role of investors in national development. “Issues such as accelerating and expanding the country’s economy, increasing exports and employment, and expanding production are directly linked to investors,” he said. Acknowledging current challenges, he noted that “the investment situation today is not favorable,” and added that the Government has reviewed past relationships with foreign investors as well as the legal and regulatory framework. According to the Minister, major legal reforms are now being prepared to create a more investor-friendly environment, with strong support from the private sector. As part of this effort, amendments to the Law on Investment (2013) and discussions on the draft Law on Trade are planned for the upcoming spring session of Parliament.
In practical terms, the Investor Protection Center aims to function as a single-point service platform for investors. Its mandate includes providing legal and regulatory information, facilitating the exchange of new data and best practices, organizing training programs and seminars, enhancing transparency, and offering support for submitting and resolving complaints and proposals, ideally before disputes escalate to the courts. Whether the center will succeed in restoring investor confidence remains to be seen. Its effectiveness will depend not only on institutional design, but also on consistent political will, legal certainty, and a genuine shift in how Mongolia engages with investors, particularly beyond the mining sector.
Of more than 200 laws currently in force governing business relations in the nation, an estimated 40 contain provisions that directly restrict or discourage investment activity. Rather than creating coherence and predictability, this fragmented legal framework has contributed to regulatory uncertainty and overlapping authority, which investors frequently cite as one of the country’s most serious structural weaknesses.
The Law on Investment, adopted to serve as a central instrument for regulating investor relations and safeguarding investor rights, has been amended and supplemented 15 times. Instead of increasing clarity, these repeated changes have eroded legal stability. Two years ago, the law was nearly reshaped into what many observers described as a de facto Law on Foreign Investment, prompting concern among lawmakers and the business community alike.
During parliamentary debates at the time, members emphasized the need to establish a National Council for Foreign Trade, a body that would take responsibility for key investment-related issues, including investment thresholds, stabilization certificates, contractual frameworks, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Lawmakers also pointed out that Mongolia currently lacks a clearly defined minimum investment threshold and argued that imposing a single, uniform threshold would be inappropriate, as investment requirements vary significantly across sectors such as mining, agriculture, manufacturing, and services. Despite these discussions and proposed institutional reforms, the overall investment climate has shown little measurable improvement.
According to the World Bank, one out of every three investors in Mongolia ultimately withdraws their investment decision due to contract breaches. This statistic alone underscores a fundamental breakdown in trust between investors and counterparties, including state institutions. Further evidence comes from a study conducted by the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs, which found that it takes an average of 6.2 years for investors to resolve disputes and complaints in Mongolia. Even more concerning is the finding that approximately 75 percent of investment-related complaints remain unresolved, leaving investors in prolonged legal and financial limbo. 
Reporting by Business.mn paints an even more troubling picture. Between 2018 and 2023, a total of 69 formal investment-related complaints were filed. Of these, 54 cases have yet to be resolved, and some disputes have reportedly remained in the court system for as long as 16 years. Such delays are virtually unheard of in competitive investment destinations and severely undermine the credibility as a rule-of-law jurisdiction. These concerns are echoed in the “Mongolia Investment Climate Statement 2024”, prepared by the Economic and Commercial Section of the US Embassy in Mongolia. The report notes that investors frequently cite the inability - and in some cases the unwillingness - of the Tax Service and other Government agencies to resolve disputes. This failure, the report warns, creates a risk of indirect expropriation, whereby investors lose effective control over their assets not through formal nationalization, but through prolonged administrative pressure, unresolved claims, and legal uncertainty.
The report also highlights serious deficiencies within the judicial system. Judges often avoid ruling on complex tax and business disputes, proceedings are routinely delayed, and even when court decisions are eventually issued, enforcement remains weak. In some cases, by the time a ruling is made, the opposing party has already liquidated assets and disappeared, rendering the judgment meaningless. This is the environment in which the Investor Protection Center has been established. While the center claims to support and protect the interests of investors, it remains unclear what concrete authority, enforcement mechanisms, or legal tools it will possess to address these deeply rooted problems. Without binding decision-making power, judicial coordination, or legislative reform, the center risks becoming a consultative body with limited practical impact.
In this context, economist and researcher N.Enkhbayar offered a candid assessment of the challenges facing Mongolia’s investment climate. “It is no secret that Mongolia lags behind on many indicators used to measure the business environment. There is a clear need for comprehensive improvement, and the establishment of the Investor Protection Center should be viewed as part of that broader objective,” he said.
At the same time, N.Enkhbayar cautioned against unrealistic expectations. “In practice, the center is not an institution that can resolve all existing problems. Its primary role is to transmit information, facilitate communication, and mediate investors’ suggestions and complaints,” he noted. While the Government has announced reductions in special licenses and the launch of various reform initiatives, N.Enkhbayar questioned whether these measures have been fully implemented in practice. “When we examine the main international indicators used to assess the investment environment, there is no evidence of meaningful progress. Mongolia continues to rank consistently low in key assessments, including the annual Investment Climate Report and the Economic Freedom Index published by the US Department of State,” he mentioned. 
According to N.Enkhbayar, genuine improvement in the investment environment requires measurable progress in these internationally recognized indicators, rather than rhetorical commitments alone. Drawing on the experience of the World Bank Group, he noted that a true one-stop service model for investors can only function effectively if an Investment Promotion Agency adopts a client manager system, in which dedicated managers are assigned to support investors throughout the investment process. International practice shows that these elements must be implemented together to produce real results, he said.
However, one of the most persistent weaknesses of Mongolia’s investment environment is institutional instability. “Organizations and structures are created, operate for a short period, and then disappear without leaving any tangible impact”, he said, pointing to numerous past examples. In this context, he warned that the proliferation of populist or public relations-oriented institutions, particularly various councils, has done little to address structural problems.
“There is no dispute that an institution to protect investor interests is necessary. But the most fundamental form of protection is a stable and predictable legal environment. Numerous past cases involving the illegal seizure of property were often carried out through cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the courts, which have severely damaged investor confidence. Many councils established for similar purposes have ceased to function after holding only two or three meetings, further undermining trust in such mechanisms. Entrusting investor protection to temporary councils and centers that lack permanence, authority and accountability will not produce meaningful results. A more effective and sustainable solution would be for the relevant line ministries to take the lead, focusing on strengthening the stability, enforcement, and accountability of the legal framework itself. Only by improving the consistency and credibility of laws and their implementation can Mongolia create an investment environment that truly protects investor interests,” N.Enkhbayar concluded.
However, a researcher specializing in investment, tax and business law offered a more technical perspective on the issue. According to the researcher, the Law on Investment clearly defines the protection of the rights and interests of both domestic and foreign investors, outlines the forms of support to be provided by the state, and specifies the roles and responsibilities of central Government institutions.
“For example, the law’s provisions on both tax and non-tax incentives are, in principle, a positive feature. However, legislation alone is not sufficient to ensure implementation. Investors come to Mongolia with defined expectations based on the legal framework, only to find in practice that they ‘run into a wall’ created by legal uncertainty, conflicting policies, and uncoordinated actions among state institutions,” he explained.
The researcher also emphasized that non-tax support mechanisms, such as administrative facilitation, regulatory stability and institutional cooperation, play a crucial role in attracting and retaining investment. Under current legislation, responsibility for implementing such support lies primarily with the Ministry of Economy and Development. Yet, as of today, it remains unclear what specific criteria the ministry will use or what concrete forms this support will take within the framework prescribed by law.
“In other words, the legal criteria for granting support and the mechanisms for implementing it are vague and undefined. From this perspective, the establishment of an Investor Protection Center is correct in principle, but insufficient on its own. State institutions currently operate in a fragmented and inconsistent manner, with one agency often contradicting or undermining the decisions of another. Although laws and regulations adopted after 2016 are required to comply with the General Administrative Law of 2011, this principle is not consistently applied in practice. As a result, even when the government declares its intention to support investors, it remains unclear whether such support will take the form of a binding legal act, an enforceable administrative decision, or merely a non-binding expression of goodwill. If the legal environment is not clarified and harmonized,” the researcher warned. 
While the idea of resolving investor issues through a single-window system is commendable, he cautioned that unless Mongolia first undertakes a thorough review of its fragmented and poorly coordinated legal framework, the country risks offering false hope to both domestic and foreign investors, and once again undermining its own credibility.

President Praises Camel Herders for Preserving Mongolian Heritage www.montsame.mn

President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhaa worked in Mandalgobi city, Dundgobi aimag on January 24, where he met with local residents and herders and attended the 5th National Camel Herders’ Conference.
Opening the conference, the President expressed gratitude to herders—especially camel herders—for preserving traditional livestock husbandry knowledge and passing it down through generations. He noted that Mongolia’s camel population has doubled over the past 20 years, increasing from 254 thousand to 501 thousand, as a result of the hard work of herders.
He noted that the two-humped camel, known internationally as the “Mongolian camel,” has been revered since ancient times and immortalized in folklore, legends, songs, and poetry, making it a distinctive and proud part of Mongolia’s cultural heritage.
He emphasized that improving camel productivity, expanding processing capacity, and increasing herders’ incomes will require the active role and participation of camel herders, as well as close cooperation among the government, the private sector, and herders.
The President also outlined state policies aimed at supporting national production and boosting exports, including the “White Gold” and “Food Revolution” initiatives. He noted that camel wool—particularly from young camels and female camels—is comparable in quality to cashmere and that camel wool products are commanding high prices on the global market.
The conference featured discussions on camel culture preservation, climate change and desertification, cultural heritage protection, and the endangered Mongolian camel and enhancing its value.
Of the more than two million two-humped camels worldwide, around 500 thousand are found in Mongolia.