Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya visited Mongolia February 5-8 and met with Parliament Speaker G. Zandanshatar, Minister of Foreign Affairs B. Battsetseg, Independent Authority Against Corruption Chief Commissioner Z. Dashdavaa, Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Kh. Nyambaatar, and National Security Council Secretary J. Enkhbayar. She also met with a range of civil society and religious leaders.

Under Secretary Zeya affirmed the United States’ commitment to deepening U.S.-Mongolia ties, anchored in our shared values, including the commitment to democracy. She also highlighted the need for continued progress in promoting good governance, rule of law, and human rights. The Under Secretary underscored U.S. appreciation of Mongolia’s role as a democratic leader in the region.

Robust U.S.-Mongolia partnership includes efforts to fight child trafficking, strengthen law enforcement and civil society, combat corruption, and protect human rights such as freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression. The United States pledged $5.5 million in support for the U.S.-Mongolia Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership, which is a commitment between the United States and Mongolia to strengthen efforts to prosecute and convict child traffickers, provide comprehensive trauma-informed care for child victims, and prevent child trafficking. Under the CPC, Mongolia has, in the last year, opened three child-friendly spaces, which support child trafficking victims and other children during investigations, and launched two more spaces during Under Secretary Zeya’s visit.

Since 2018, the United States has also provided $13 million in technical assistance, equipment, training, and exchanges for Mongolian criminal justice agencies, ranging from the National Police Agency to Mongolia’s Supreme Court, including a $1 million project with the International Development Law Organization to improve transparency and combat corruption, in partnership with the Independent Agency Against Corruption, prosecutors, police, and civil society.

Elixir Energy Ltd., Adelaide, has reached pilot production of 100,000 cu f/d of gas and stable and low water rates of 180 b/d from its coal seam gas pilot project in the Nomgon IX production sharing contract in the South Gobi basin of Mongolia.

The two-well pilot program (Nomgon-8 and Nomgon-9) began in November 2022 and has been in operation for 83 days.

Nomgon-9 began producing gas from the first day of pumping with flow rates increasing steadily over the period, Elixir said. It has now reached 80,000 cu ft/d. The produced water has remained steady at 160 b/d.

Nomgon-8 experienced initial technical difficulties, necessitating a workover to flush and clean the production interval. Production has reached 20,000 cu ft/d of gas and water flow of 20 b/d. Elixir believes the flow rates will steadily increase.

The company has started interpretation of the ongoing Nomgon-9 production history and hopes to assess project commerciality in the coming months.

Elixir’s exploration and appraisal program for 2023 at Nomgon is expected to begin in this year’s second quarter. It will comprise drilling a minimum of nine wells (four appraisals, five exploration).

Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport, February 7, 04:34 AM - Deputy chief of National Emergency Management Agency, Brigadier-General B. Uuganbayar, his rescue team of 35 search and rescue specialists and two search dogs headed to Turkey.

Today, plane carrying 1.500 woolen blankets, 10 tonnes of meat, 2 tonnes of candles and other aids leaves Mongolia to Turkey and Syria.

S. Amarsaikhan, Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister, and Head of the State Emergency Commission met with the team and reminded the team that the Turkish government sent help to our Mongolian herders during the harsh winters in 2010 and 2016, also said, “Wishing you nothing but the best on your mission. Please come home safe.”

The Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkey, Zafer Ateş extends his warmest appreciation to the Government of Mongolia for its valuable support and solidarity.

Pope Francis has announced his intention to visit Mongolia later this year.

The landlocked Asian country might seem an odd destination for a papal visit. There are only about 1,300 Catholics in Mongolia—probably not as many as in your home parish—accounting for just 0.04% of the country’s population. But the Pope has taken a keen interest in the missionary territory, choosing its only bishop, Giorgio Morengo, to receive a cardinal’s red hat last year. And surely no one would deny that the faithful Catholics of Mongolia deserve the pastoral attention of the Roman Pontiff, just like the Catholics of any other nation.

Still, the plan for a trip to Mongolia sharpens one of the mysterious questions about this pontificate. As he approaches the 10th anniversary of his election, why hasn’t Pope Francis visited his homeland? Among all his travel destinations, why hasn’t he ever chosen a trip back to Argentina?

For many of his 40 trips outside Italy—which the Vatican categorizes as “pastoral voyages”—Pope Francis has chosen to visit many countries where Catholics, and even Christians, are a tiny minority, such as Albania, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. Yet he hasn’t been back to Argentina, where 92% of the people are counted as Catholics. He has traveled to east Asia; he has only recently returned from sub-Saharan Africa. But he hasn’t made it home

The omission of Argentina from the Pope’s travel dockets is even more curious, when one considers that he has crisscrossed South America, hopping around neighboring countries without touching down. In 2013 he was in Brazil; in 2015, Ecuador and Bolivia and Paraguay; in 2017, Colombia; in 2018, Chile and Peru. Any one of those trips could have allowed for a stop in Buenos Aires, where he was born and raised—where he served, as auxiliary bishop and then as archbishop, for over 20 years.

While he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the future Pontiff was known for avoiding foreign travel. When church business took him to Rome, he returned home as quickly as he could—unlike the many prelates who take every opportunity to lengthen their stays in the Eternal City. In fact when he reported to Rome for the conclave of 2013 he had every intention of returning to Buenos Aires as soon as the new Pope was elected. Ten years later, he still hasn’t returned.

Pope John Paul II, elected in October 1978, made it to Poland by June of the following year, despite the marked reluctance of the country’s Communist leaders to allow a papal visit. Pope Benedict XVI was in Germany less than six months after his election in 2005 (although the World Youth Day event that brought him to Cologne had been scheduled long before his election). Before them, of course, since the advent of air travel made foreign trips feasible, every Pope had been Italian.

To date, then, Pope Francis is the only Roman Pontiff in history who, having the ability to fly back to his native country for a visit, has not taken that opportunity. I have no theory to explain why he has not traveled home. But as the years go by, and the list of papal voyages lengthens, the mystery grows more intriguing.

Philip F. Lawler

Mongolia has imported materials and products worth USD 688 million as of the first month of 2023, a 23.6 percent increase compared with 2022, according to Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA).

The shares of imported goods are as follows:

Equipment and machinery were 15.2 percent (or USD 104.5 million);

Mineral products were 26.2 percent (or USD 180.2 million), of which 88.6 percent (or USD 159.6 million) is petroleum;

Food products, such as meat and vegetables, were 10.6 percent (or USD 72.9 million);

Automobile and aircraft were 21.0 percent (or USD 144.2 million);

Iron and steel products were 6.9 percent (or USD 47.3 million) and

Chemical products were 5.4 percent (or USD 37.3 million) and altogether made up 82.6 of the total imports in 2022.

Our country imports materials and products with definite origins from 105 countries, of which 35.8 percent are from China; 29.2 percent from Russia; 9.7 percent from Japan; 3.5 percent from South Korea; and 3.3 percent from the United States.

The Government of Mongolia is preparing a bill to amend the Tobacco Control Law and representatives from the World Health Organization are coming to provide technical assistance.

On February 2, the authorities of the Ministry of Health and the WHO representatives met with Ts. Munkh-Orgil, M. Oyunchimeg, and J. Chinburen, members of the Standing Committee on Social Policy of the State Great Khural and exchanged views on the existing Tobacco Control Law and the bill that is currently being developed to amend it.

The member M. Oyunchimeg noted that the poor control over the new type of cigarette (Electronic Cigarette) and the low tobacco tax became the causes of weak enforcement of this law.

The representatives of the WHO emphasized that the best way to strengthen the Tobacco Control Law was to increase its tax.

The project of the New Oil Refinery plant included in the “Action Plan 2016–2020” of the Mongolian Government, has started with the soft loan of the Indian Government in Altanshiree soum, Dornogobi aimag.

Upon the commencement of this new refinery plant, it will address 75% of the Mongolian energy supply, stop Mongolian dependence on Russia for fuel and Mongolia’s GDP is estimated to grow by over 10 percent.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India, M.P. Singh informs that: “Before putting this refinery plant operation, we believe that the Mongolian government will complete the 530 km long oil pipeline from Dornod to Dornogovi aimag. The completion of the first stage has reached 80%, even though it started during the pandemic. An Indian major infrastructure company Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), which has implemented projects worth USD 40 billion in 16 countries, is the constructor of the second stage. The tender proposal submission deadline for the fourth stage of construction is extended from January to mid-February at the request of applicants. The winner of the tender will be announced in March. When the weather gets warm (Construction Season starts) all the construction work will commence. The government authorities of our two countries are attaching great importance to this project.”

The refinery plant will create 1000 jobs; Therefore, I hope it will mark the beginning of the industrial revolution in Mongolia.

The Indian Government approved the financing amounts to USD 1.6 billion and about 800-1000 specialists and employees from India will come to Mongolia to carry out the construction work that will be resumed in spring.

Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, witnessed a significant rise in import and export cargo volume in January, the railway authorities said on Friday.

The port saw over 1.42 million tonnes of import and export cargos in January, up over 90 percent year on year, according to the China Railway Hohhot Group. Its imported and exported cargos surpassed 1.18 million tonnes and 238,600 tonnes respectively in the month.

In January last year, the port handled a relatively low volume of cargo as a result of the pandemic. This year, the China Railway Hohhot Group has taken a slew of measures to improve support services such as cargo customs clearance, train inspection and reloading operations.

The port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region now serves 64 China-Europe freight-train routes, connecting over 60 overseas destinations across more than 10 countries.

Editor: Yang Yifan

Mongolia plans to reach 1.5 million air passengers this year and 2 million in 2024, Minister of Road Transport Development Byambatsogt Sandag announced at a meeting with representatives of the tourism industry organized as part of the "Year of Visit to Mongolia" on February 6.

Mongolia is working with 39 countries on bilateral agreements on air traffic, the Minister said.

MIAT, Aero Mongolia, Hunnu Air, Eznis Airways, and Mongolian Airways operate international and domestic flights, as well as possible direct flights from the United States as part of air transport liberalization. In addition, work has been underway since 2023 to conclude an air service agreement for direct flights with Hungary, England, Azerbaijan, Greece, Spain and Qatar.