Russia Tasks Hollywood Actor Seagal With Improving Russia-U.S. Ties www.themoscowtimes.com

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it had made U.S. actor Steven Seagal its special representative for Russian-U.S. humanitarian ties, a role it said was meant to deepen cultural, art and youth ties between the two countries.

Mongolia Balance of Trade 1997-2018 www.tradingeconomics.com

Mongolia's trade surplus narrowed to USD 115.9 million in June of 2018 from USD 173.1 million in the same month of the previous year, as imports jumped 36 percent year-on-year to USD 580.3 million while exports grew at a softer 16.1 percent to USD 696.2 million. Considering the first six months of 2018, the trade surplus decreased 30.4 percent year-on-year to USD 822.2 million from USD 1181.3 million in the previous year. Imports soared 43.4 percent year-on-year to USD 2759.1 million, boosted by machinery & equipment & electrical appliances (44.2%); mineral products (34.9%); vehicles & parts (64.9%) and base metals & articles thereof (92.6%). Meantime, sales rose 15.3 percent to USD 3581.4 million, mostly driven by mineral products (18.5%); textiles & textile articles (16.3%) and live animals & animal’s origin products (94.6%). Balance of Trade in Mongolia averaged -7.81 USD Million from 1997 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 361.60 USD Million in December of 2016 and a record low of -369.80 USD Million in July of 2012

‘Khuvsgul Altan duulga" JSC to hold roadshow meeting for public www.mse.mn

‘Khuvsgul Altan Duulga’ JSC, a Tier 3 listed company, will hold a roadshow meeting for public on August 6, 2018 at the Blue Sky Hotel at 4 pm.

Mongolia Inflation Rate 2007-2018 www.tradingeconomics.com

Inflation rate in Mongolia went up to 7.2 percent year-on-year in June of 2018 from 6.1 percent in the previous month. It was the highest inflation rate since June of 2015, as prices advanced faster for food & non-alcoholic beverages (10.8 percent from 7.1 percent in May); housing & utilities (14.9 percent from 13.8 percent); furnishings & household equipment (6 percent from 5.9 percent); recreation & culture (6.4 percent from 3.9 percent); health (10.7 percent from 9.7 percent) and miscellaneous goods & services (5.3 percent from 4.8 percent); while inflation was steady for transport (4.9 percent, the same as in the preceding month). Contrarily, cost slowed for clothing & footwear (2.6 percent from 3.2 percent); restaurants & hotels (5.1 percent from 5.8 percent); alcoholic beverages & tobacco (8.2 percent from 8.4 percent) and fell further for communication (-1.2 percent from -1 percent). On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent in May. Inflation Rate in Mongolia averaged 10.23 percent from 2007 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 34.20 percent in August of 2008 and a record low of -0.20 percent in August of 2016.

Belt and Road fuels Northern Territory's innovation hub in Australia www.chinadaily.com.cn

In Australia, the Northern Territory's Darwin Innovation Hub is taking an active role in sharing the benefits of China's Belt and Road Initiative, said Harley Paroulakis, the hub's founder and chief executive.

"We would like to attract one Chinese innovation company to a Northern Territory industry sector in the next 12 months. We are planning to visit China and work with Austrade to find a suitable Chinese innovation company," Paroulakis said.

Austrade is the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, which helps companies connect to overseas markets, among other duties.

Paroulakis and his team members have had preliminary meetings with groups like the Shandong Investment Group venture capital team and Nanjing Development Zone.

To establish the right networks in China to find the right and most relevant Chinese company for the Northern Territory is the most challenging part of this project, which takes time, Paroulakis said.

However, China's Belt and Road Initiative gives him great confidence and a lot of assistance to build an Asia-Pacific ecosystem linking Darwin and Northern Territory industry to the region, especially with China.

The Belt and Road Initiative can certainly help build confidence and direction in our deal flow between China and North Australia and help the innovation hub work with the right business in China, Paroulakis said.

Meanwhile, the innovation hub also will back a Northern Territory innovation company to set up in China by developing partnerships with Chinese companies in the innovation and investment sectors, potentially via a parallel venture capital funding agreement that focuses on Belt and Road innovation investments between China and Australia, according to Paroulakis.

"We plan to visit China and meet with companies with technologies in solar, agricultural tech, mining tech and other industries relevant to the Northern Territory. We want to attract one company in the next 12 months to China and one to Australia consistent with the BRI," Paroulakis said.

DIH has raised the first venture capital fund in the Northern Territory and also established the first incubator in partnership with the Northern Territory government and Charles Darwin University, which involved winning a national tender, with the Australian Government getting the whole country to compete for grand funding for the Incubator Support Program. It was a historical first for the Northern Territory to won it, said Paroulakis.

The Northern Territory is a unique place to take advantage of China's Belt and Road Initiative to deepen China-Australian relations, as the Oceania region is the "natural extension" of the Maritime Silk Road, said Cheng Jingye, the Chinese ambassador to Australia, in mid-July at a high-level conference on the Belt and Road Initiative in Australia, as reported by NT News.

Active interactions between Chinese and Australian businesses would lead to further exploration of possible cooperation between China and Australia under the Belt and Road framework, as local cooperation is an integral part and important basis of China-Australia relations, Cheng said, according to the report.

The Darwin Innovation Hub aims at building an Asia-Pacific ecosystem linking Darwin and Northern Territory industry to the region, especially with China, and it would be a privilege to be part of the process in which China is becoming a world leader and standard setter of innovation in the world, Paroulakis said.

Developing an eco-farm and training center in Mongolia www.idealist.org

Since 2000, volunteers from all over the world have been participating in summer programs designed to improve the vegetable farm at Buhug River. During the last years, we focused more on improving the facilities, and not much on the farming methods. The way it's been done, farming and cultivating was not really productive and eco-friendly. Farmers in the area also face the same challenges. Despite the hard work farmers put in, the crop yields are low.

Eco ger kindergarten campaign commences www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ Over 150 kindergartens are reportedly in need in the capital city and about 40 000 children are still unable to get early education. Inadequate access to kindergartens has an adverse impact on children’s development, future learning process and pose significant risks to children.

Russia exports record amount of gas to energy-hungry Europe www.rt.com

Gazprom, Russia’s largest natural gas exporter, has again increased its deliveries to Europe. The company sent 5.8 percent more blue fuel to the continent through July compared to last year.
Gas deliveries to Germany jumped 12.3 percent. Austria bought 48.3 percent more Russian gas. Shipments to the Netherlands were 53.8 percent higher, and to Croatia up by 40.1 percent. Gazprom also exported more gas to Denmark, Poland, and France in the first seven months of 2018.

Govt in talks with IMF to settle 2019 mortgage program financing www.zgm.mn

Ministry of Construction and Urban Development (MCUD) is aiming to reduce mortgage loan down payment to 25 percent from 30. The down payment reduction is expected to increase the number of households capable of repaying mortgage loan to about 31,000 according to an official close to the matter. A supply and demand study, conducted amongst the 152 khoroos (smallest administrative unit of Mongolia) of Ulaanbaatar, shows that around 252,000 households are interested in applying for mortgage program, of which only 13,000 households meet the criteria. According to the MCUD, over 33,000 accommodations are currently ready for sale in Ulaanbaatar city. 2018 State Budget allocated around MNT 120 billion for the mortgage program. Also, mortgage lenders are expected to pump MNT 220 billion to the program through interest payments this year. In other words, around MNT 340 billion can be financed for the program in 2018, highlighted the Minister of Finance Khurelbaatar Chimed.

Mongolia hosts historic FIFA Forward Workshop www.fifa.com

A historic FIFA Forward Workshop was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 29-30 July, with 11 Member Associations (MAs) from the East and South East Asian region taking part.

The first FIFA event hosted by the Mongolian Football Federation (MFF) since its inception in 1959 saw two days of productive activities, which highlighted the benefits that funding from the FIFA Forward Programme can bring to MAs.

The workshop, divided into several sessions over the two days, included discussions on the first cycle of the FIFA Forward Development Programme, and what the future of FIFA Forward looks like in the 2019-2022 cycle. There was also a case study into the Icelandic Football Association's use of FIFA Forward funds, presented by Geir Thorsteinsson (the former president of the Icelandic FA) and discussions on women's football and how to correctly submit a FIFA Forward application.

“On behalf of the entire Mongolian football family, I very much appreciate the fact that FIFA has decided to organise such a prestigious event in my country," said Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar, MFF President. "I am also happy that the FIFA Workshop provided very important information on the Forward Development Programme which has really enhanced the development of football throughout the world, including Mongolia.

"The financial support provided to the MFF has enabled us to support our national teams in nine age categories including women’s and futsal. We have also prioritised women’s football as a key goal in our strategic objectives. I would like to end by saying that MFF and FIFA are one team with one goal."

Representing FIFA in Mongolia were Sanjeevan Balasingam, FIFA's Regional MA Director (Asia and Oceania), Daniel O'Toole, from FIFA's Financial Governance Programme, Juerg Nepfer, FIFA's Head of Technical Development Services and Geir Thorsteinsson, member of FIFA's Associations Committee.

Member Associations in attendance

​China PR
Guam
Hong Kong
Japan
Korea Republic
Korea DPR
Macau
Mongolia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
The participants found the workshop useful, and fully appreciated the opportunity to discuss the benefits of the FIFA Forward Programme.

"The HKFA has greatly benefited from this new FIFA initiative – the Forward Development Programme, in recent years," said Vincent Yuen, General Secretary of the Hong Kong FA. "On this occasion we are not only being given the chance to review the whole programme together with FIFA and fellow MAs but also have received information on the enhanced and improved version of the programme. The workshop is entirely enlightening and the interaction is informative. I cannot thank FIFA enough for this."

The workshop stressed the importance of strategic planning for all MAs, making clear that their respective plans would form key priorities to be contained in the Contract of Agreed Objectives (CAOs). The CAOs will be executed along with FIFA for the upcoming cycle (2019-2022) of the FIFA Forward Development Programme.

During the workshop, there were engaging discussions in bilateral meetings between each of the 11 MAs, which focused on the drafting of the CAOs for the 2019-2022 period.

"Continuing on from the 2017 edition of the Forward Workshops, we were able to learn about practices and various experiences of different member associations which was very helpful," said Sean An from the Korean FA. "In particular, Iceland Football Association's case study provided an inspirational and unique insight of how the FIFA Forward can be utilised as a foundation in leaving a legacy."

The workshop in Mongolia is just one of a series of global workshops organised by the FIFA Member Associations Division, to ensure the 211 MAs and six confederations are kept up-to-date on the FIFA Forward Programme.