During the official talks, the Foreign Minister of Mongolia confirmed that Mongolia prioritize the development of relations with Japan as a third neighbor and close strategic partner that shares values in respecting democracy, human rights and freedom. Sides then held discussions on implementing Mid-term Strategic Partnership Program (2017-2021) and Economic Partnership Agreement, and deepening Mongolia-Japan relations in wide range of sectors such as politics, defense, economy, trade, culture, education and etc.

Mongolian side expressed gratitude towards the Japanese Government and people for rendering generous support and assistance to the country in strengthening democracy and structuring market economy system. In the framework of International Monetary Fund’s program and Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Japanese Government has been providing several important aids.

Starting from the coming spring, Mr Tara Kono has informed that Japan will workout a Masterplan on developing VAT included productions in Mongolia’s agricultural sector. Mr Tsogtbaatar Damdin made a request on implementing the third step of the Two-Step Loan Project for SMEs and Environmental Protection that was implemented with the soft loan of the Japanese Government.

The sides confirmed that they will implement the Memorandum of Interministerial Program on Apprentices that was signed between the labour ministers.

The memorandum is considered vital for Mongolia’s sustainable socio-economic developments.

Mr Tsogtbaatar also noted that it is important to create conditions for visa-free travel between the two countries. The sides agreed to create consultative mechanisms between the consulates of the foreign ministries on easing citizens’ travel conditions and protecting their interests.

The Minister noted that Mongolia-Japan relations had been strengthening not only in the bilateral frames, but also in the regional and international levels, and agreed to strengthen firmly in this aspect as a strategic partner.

Oyunbayar.N

The regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation will be led by Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister U.Enkhtuvshin and Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy, Montsame news agency reported.

The 11th meeting will review the implementation of the protocol of the 10th meeting and address bilateral cooperation on construction of a power plant at Eg River, border region development, road and transport, energy, environment and agriculture sectors.

Moreover, the Sub-Commission on Regional and Cross Border Cooperation will meet to discuss the implementation of the Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor program and bilateral cross border cooperation.

The Sub-Commission meeting will be led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs B.Battsetseg from Mongolian side and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Alexey Gruzdev.

Archbishop Alfred Xuereb

Archbishop Alfred Xuereb was born in Gozo, Malta on October 14, 1958.

He was ordained a priest on May 26, 1984, and incarnated in Gozo.

After obtaining a degree in theology he began his administrative service at the Secretariat of the Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University in September 1991.

He was transferred to the General Affairs Section of the Secretariat of State on 1 September 1995; to the Prefecture of the Papal Household in November 2000 and to the General Affairs Section of the Secretariat of State (the Special Secretariat of Benedict XVI) on September 11, 2007 and to the Special Secretariat of Pope Francis on March 15, 2013.

He was appointed as delegate for the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Institute for the Works of Religion and for the Pontifical Commission for study and guidance on the organization of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See on 28 November 2013.

He was appointed as prelate secretary general of the Secretariat for Economic Affairs on March 3, 2014.

He knows Italian, English, German, Portuguese and French.

Specifically, a total stock market value reached MNT 2.4 trillion in 2017 which showed the highest indication in its history. In 2016, the stock market value was MNT 1.4 trillion and it was raised by 65 percent within one year period. Thus, the stock market equals to 9 percent of Gross domestic product (GDP). Newly issued securities were traded well showing that market demand has increased in the sector.

As of 2017, a total asset of savings and credit cooperatives, non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) and insurance field amounted to MNT 1.4 trillion. It was went up by 23 percent compared to 2016 and makes up 5 percent of the GDP.

A total capital of insurance was MNT 244.7 billion as of the end of 2017, showing 17.4 percent rise than the previous year. A total premium income went up by 26.1 percent, insurance compensation by 31 percent and net profit raised by 15.7 percent compared to 2016.

Amount of total capital of non-bank financial sector reached MNT 969.2 billion in 2017, equalling to 3.6 percent of GDP. As a result of raising threshold of NBFI share capital, loan supply went up and monthly weighted interest rate decreased to 3.4 percent from 4 percent. FRC considers the interest rate can be declined down to 2.1 percent by 2020.

Moreover, savings and credit cooperatives' capital totals MNT 151.3 billion, having 55.624 members and a total net profit of MNT 5.5 billion. It is the highest growth since 2012 and also amount of total credit of the sector reached MNT 105 billion.

B.Batchimeg

The National Statistics Office reported that the inflation rate was 6.9 percent in January.

Food price inflation increased in 2017 due to price increases for meat and vegetables. According to the report, even though non-grocery inflation tends to increase in the first few months of the year, the inflation rate is expected to be sustainable thanks to a decreased impact of currency exchange rates.

The report also noted that production in non-mining sectors will grow, which will support GDP, but growth in the agriculture sector may be lower. The International Monetary Fund’s extended fund facility program has played a role in increasing foreign financing and reducing the budget deficit, which has positively impacted economic growth and will bring about more private sector loans.

Mongolia registered its first case of HIV/AIDS in 1992. Currently, there are 249 people living with HIV in Mongolia: 80 percent of those are men and 79.2 percent are members of the LGBT community.

On 30 January, 2018, the levels of PM2.5 pollution reached 3 320 micrograms per cubic meter-133 times the level WHO recommends as safe.

The most important source of air pollution comes from coal-burning stoves in the “ger” districts (informal settlements) during the cold season. Rapid urbanization continues to cause a problem of unplanned settlements and increased air, water and soil pollution.

Unless concrete efforts are made address this situation, exposures will increase in the coming years with significant health consequences for the city`s population, especially for children.

Evidence of the impact air pollution on children

Children are the most vulnerable to adverse health effects of air pollution from the day they are conceived.

Pregnant women`s exposure to air pollution can affect growing baby`s lungs and respiratory system causing pre-term birth and spontaneous abortion.

In Mongolia, a 3.5-fold increase in fetal deaths have been documented between winter and summer. Air pollution is also inked with diseases that can be highly damaging for children, such as bronchitis and asthma, causing children to miss school and other important learning and development opportunities.

Toxic chemicals in the air harm unborn baby`s brain development and contribute to behavioral and cognitive problems later in childhood, evidence suggests.

According to UNICEF in last 10 years, incidents of respiratory diseases in Ulaanbaatar alarmingly increased including a 2.7-fold increase in a respiratory infections per 10,000 population.

Pneumonia is now the second leading cause for under-five child mortality in the country.

In 2015, up to 435 children the age of five in Ulaanbaatar died from pneumonia. Children living in a highly polluted district of Central Ulaanbaatar were found to have 40 percent lower lung function than children living in a rural area.

UNICEF action

UNICEF is working closely with the Government of Mongolia in partnership with CSO`s, private sector, media, public opinion leaders, advocates.

“Interestingly, both Russia and China publicize and promote their accumulations of gold and publicly refer to gold as a strategic monetary asset. They make no secret of this. But on the flipside, the US does the opposite, and constantly downplays the strategic role of gold,” Singapore’s BullionStar precious metals expert Ronan Manly told RT in December.

The US claims to be the largest holder of gold with 8,134 tons, but according to Manly, that number is impossible to verify.

“The entire story around the US gold reserves is opaque and secretive. There has never been a full independent audit of the US gold reserves, and the custodians of the gold, the US Mint and the Federal Reserve of New York, will not let anybody into the vaults to view the gold or to count it,” Manly told RT.

Germany is in second place with 3,374 tons, but a large portion of its gold reserves are still held in the US. As of last year, Bundesbank has only been able to repatriate 674 tons of gold kept in Paris and New York since the Cold War. Over 50 percent of Germany’s gold reserves are now in Frankfurt. The remainder is stored in London and New York.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) owns 2,814 tons of gold. France is the fourth-biggest bullion holder.

The CBR has more than doubled the pace of its gold purchases, according to Gold.org data. It has been increasing the country’s gold reserves to meet the goal set by President Vladimir Putin to make Russia less vulnerable to geopolitical risks. The Russian gold hoard has increased by more than 500 percent since 2000.

Russia is also the third-largest producer of the precious metal. The government has purchased two-thirds of all the gold mined in country, buying it from local banks, as the Kremlin sees the precious metal as a safe haven at a time of geopolitical turbulence.

Reserve diversification is one of the primary reasons Russia buys gold, according to the CBR.

Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D. Sumiyabazar noted, “First, those 1,072 shares need to be registered. Preparation for registering them on the stock market needs to start immediately, because it takes much time. Our ministry is working hard to finish this in 2018.” Cabinet members didn’t reach consensus on the issue of international stock market registration.

The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry is working to introduce a proposal regarding the shares to Parliament once it is approved by the cabinet.

Geely shares jumped in Hong Kong after the deal to buy almost 10% of the firm was announced over the weekend.

The Chinese carmaker already fully-owns Sweden's Volvo and black cab maker London Taxi Company.

Chairman Li Shufu is expected to meet Daimler executives on Monday and German government officials later in the week.

Geely's 9.7% stake in the high profile German carmaker has raised some concerns that the Chinese firm will seek access to technology and innovation in exchange for the deal.

But the German government said it saw "no need to act in terms of competition rules or foreign investment rules".

'Invaders from outside'
China is widely considered the most important future market for global car manufacturers.

In a statement by Geely, Mr Li said he wanted to "accompany Daimler on its way to becoming the world's leading electro-mobility provider," and was looking for a long-term commitment.

Describing what he called a "strategic vision," he argued that "invaders from outside" the traditional car sector, meant firms needed to cooperate through partnerships and alliances.

Traditional carmakers are increasingly facing competition from newcomers from the technology sector, including Tesla and the Google-associated Waymo.

Also over the weekend, Daimler announced a $1.9bn (£1.4bn) investment into a partnership with another Chinese auto firm, BAIC.

The money will go into modernising a BAIC plant to build Mercedes cars including electric vehicles, the two companies said.

Daimler and BAIC are already cooperating in the Chinese market, where foreign production is often only permitted through partnerships with Chinese firms.

Last week, fellow German carmaker BMW announced a deal with Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motor to build electric-powered Mini cars in China for the local market.

The Chinese government has said 20% of cars sold by 2025 should be electric or rechargeable-hybrid vehicles - a target that is spurring many global carmakers to raise their investment in China.