MIAT Mongolian Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mongolian Tourism Association today. Accordingly, foreign tourists coming to our country can get a flight ticket with a 30% discount.

The Director of the Business Management Department of MIAT Mongolian Airlines, N. Batdari, stated that the purpose of promotion to increase the flow of tourists from foreign countries is within the framework of the Mongolian Government’s decision to declare 2023-2025 as the years to visit Mongolia. Therefore, the company is now offering special tariffs to tour operators and other companies to support winter tourism. Mainly, there are two types of tariffs, seasonal and group tour. Herein:

Passenger’s special tariff,

Group passengers’ special tariff to promote tourism.

These tariffs are valid only for foreign passengers, reports MIAT.

MIAT Mongolian Airlines has been offering special tariffs for group passengers to promote tourism since 2020. In addition to this promotion, the company is now offering discounted tariff for the winter season, which is 30 percent cheaper than the standard tariff.

“Our country has limited capacity to receive one million tourists within four months, between June and September. Therefore, we need to promote tourism for all seasons,” said D. Gantumur, President of the Mongolian Tourism Association.

MIAT will serve with an N-type tariff only during winter (010CT-30APR). This type will include:

Need to have at least four passengers,

Valid only for foreign tourists,

Discounted seat quota per flight (30 percent of economic seats or 45 seats).

Mongolia is modernizing its capital Ulan Bator's public transport bus fleet with Chinese-made buses, the mayor's office said Monday.

Mongolia plans to import 224 buses from China in 2023, and 117 of the buses manufactured by the Chinese company Xiamen Golden Dragon Bus have already arrived in the capital, the office said in a statement.

Around 30 of the imported buses started operating in the capital city from Monday, it said.

The remaining 107 buses are expected to be imported within the next month.

Buses are the most popular form of public transport in Mongolia's capital.

Authorities of the capital city hope the buses will reduce congestion by increasing the number of people willing to use public transportation.

For many years, traffic congestion and public transport services have been the most pressing issues in Ulan Bator, home to around half of the country's 3.4 million population.

China’s commodity trade data for 2022 shows that prices and volumes weren’t driven by the world’s biggest buyer of natural resources. The question now is whether 2023 will see China reassert its dominance as the main driver of commodity markets.

The market narrative for China’s appetite for commodities has largely moved on from what was a soft 2022 to expectations of a strong 2023. After all, the world’s second-largest economy is reopening and rebuilding after abandoning its strict zero-covid policies.

However, it’s worth looking at what did happen last year. There were differences in China’s 2022 commodities imports, and the trends established may persist for a while yet.

The obvious weak spots among major commodities were imports of crude oil and natural gas, which dropped 0.9% and 9.9% respectively in 2022 from the prior year.

Crude oil imports slipped for a second straight year to the equivalent of 10.17 million barrels per day (bpd), according to official data released on Jan. 13.

The blame is relatively easy to apportion: covid lockdowns cut domestic demand, while lower exports of refined fuels for the first nine months meant that these shipments fell 11% for the year as a whole.

However, the trend for crude oil imports and product exports shifted in the last quarter of 2022. Both gained strongly as the economy started to re-open and Beijing granted higher fuel export quotas in order to both boost the economy and allow refiners to capture some of the strong regional margins for products, especially diesel.

Crude oil imports rose 4% in December from the same month a year earlier, reaching 11.3 million bpd. Fuel exports, at 7.7 million tonnes, posted the highest monthly number since April and up 25% from November’s 6.14 million tonnes.

Natural gas imports, both from pipelines and as liquefied natural gas (LNG), were still weak in December, coming in at 10.28 million tonnes, down 11.8% from the same month in 2021 and a drop of 0.39% from November.

Natural gas imports are also in line to recover as China’s economy picks up speed.

But there is a note of caution, which also applies to crude oil: Whether Chinese utilities return to importing the volumes of LNG, which saw the country become the world’s top buyer in 2021 before losing the crown back to Japan last year, largely depends on the trajectory of spot prices.

Spot price key

China will continue to import LNG under long-term, oil-linked contracts, but matching the strong volumes of prior years depends on utilities making the judgment that spot prices are low enough to make the super-chilled fuel economically viable in China’s domestic market.

What the level of comfort is for spot prices in debatable. It’s likely to be well below the current spot price for delivery to north Asia of $23 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

While the current price has been dropping steadily since reaching a record $70.50 per mmBtu in late August, it remains high by historic standards, having only once briefly traded above $20 prior to the start of 2021.

China’s refiners have also shown reluctance in the past to buy crude oil when they deem prices are too high, or have risen too far, too fast.

It’s likely that they will want to ramp up purchases in 2023 to meet rising domestic demand from the re-opening economy and ongoing fuel export quotas. But they may become cautious if prices start to head significantly higher than the $85.28 that Brent crude futures ended at on Jan. 13.

It’s also worth noting that China imported about 700,000 bpd more than it processed in its refiners for the first 11 months of 2022. That means refiners likely have ample inventories should they wish to boost throughput without lifting imports much.

Furthermore, the physical crude market works differently to paper futures such as Brent, with China’s imports for the next few months likely already largely arranged.

This means that should refiners plan to boost imports, it will take several months before this becomes apparent in the customs data.

Iron ore, coal

Where a faster response to China’s reopening is likely is in commodities that can be more easily and quickly secured, such as iron ore.

Imports of the steel raw material dropped 1.5% in 2022 from 2021. But if China’s steel mills increase production amid the economy reopening then iron ore imports could rise quickly in coming months.

Coal imports could also tick higher, especially as Chinese buyers take advantage of Beijing’s decision to end its unofficial ban on imports from Australia, formerly the number two supplier.

While China may not import much Australian thermal coal, there is scope for a resumption of shipments of coking coal, used to make steel.

Another commodity potentially in line higher Chinese demand is copper, but it’s here where the biggest scope for disappointment may lie.

China’s imports of copper were actually one of the few strong points in 2022, with arrivals of unwrought copper gaining 6.2% and that for ores and concentrates rising 8%.

With the global economy expected to struggle for growth in 2023, there may be a question mark over how much more copper China’s export-focused manufacturing sector will require.

If manufacturing demand is soft, then the bullish copper story relies on the other uses of the industrial metal, mainly construction, and whether this will be enough to see China’s imports rise strongly in 2023.

Overall, China’s re-opening is positive for its commodity demand, but the reality is unlikely to be as linear and as certain as the market seems to be expecting.

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Clyde Russell, a columnist for Reuters.)

(Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

In relation to the “Rules on open trading of coal to be exported” adopted by the Resolution No. 466 of the Government of Mongolia on December 14, 2022, MSE has been working to create necessary frameworks for the implementation of the Rules.

Within the framework of preparation, the registration for the trading system has begun for parties interested in buying coal through an e-auction. Under the "Rules on open trading of coal to be exported," the applicants for bidder should submit the following documents to register in the https://comex.mse.mn/ trading system.

A copy of the state registration certificate of the legal entity;

A taxpayer's certificate of the country of residence and taxpayer number;

A bank reference letter; and

An official English translation of documents in a foreign language.

MSE shall review the submitted documents of the bidders registered in the system, contact them for clarification if necessary, and grant the right to participate in the e-auction based on the complete submission of materials to the trading system.

For questions about trading system registration, please contact us at info@mse.mn, follow Mongolian Stock Exchange on Facebook or call 976-11-313747. Please click here for instructions on how to register as a bidder.

Source: MONGOLIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

Mongolia has launched a unique mass health screening programme to pre-emptively test the entire population for major diseases within 12 months. The government hopes the annual programme would promote health literacy and identify serious ailments before they became costly.

Some 800,000 of the 3.4 million population had already undergone a comprehensive set of health assessments, including blood work, X-rays, and other diagnostic tests, to detect a range of conditions, from cancer to cardiovascular disease.

It has a heavy burden of alcohol abuse disorders, heart disease, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis, and suffers from the highest liver and stomach cancer rates in the world.

The new healthcare programme, which screens the population by age group and is funded by the National Health Insurance scheme, is unique in the Asia-Pacific region in its scope and scale.

It covers a vast range of assessments for mental health, diabetes, glucose levels, Hepatitis B and C, cervical and esophageal cancers. The programme, which is also being supported by the World Health Organization, includes an electrocardiogram test and ultrasounds of the abdomen, thyroid and breasts.

Early results have shown that digestive organ issues, cancer, and precancer disease are high among adults in the city, while tooth disease is also high, especially among nomadic children. Of the cancers diagnosed, 20 per cent have been linked to the stomach.

Mongolia managed to maintain one of the lowest morbidity rates from Covid-19 in the world.

On January 11, MIAT State Owned Enterprise introduced the "Special Tariff to Support Tourism" and signed a memorandum with the Mongolian Tourism Association with the purpose of improving the cooperation condition between tourism and air transport.

B.Munkhtamir, Executive Director of MIAT Mongolian Airlines, was interviewed related to this.

-How does MIAT cooperate with tourism companies and support the development of the sector?

-On January 11, MIAT SOE signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mongolian Tourism Association. We have been cooperating with regular understanding over the past years. MIAT SOE approved the special tourism tariff in 2022 in order to support tourism. The implementation of this tariff was not as we expected. And we discussed the reasons and further improvements.

The Government of Mongolia has announced tourism as a major sector for economic development. As a result, 2023-2025 has been set as the "Year of Visiting Mongolia" and a goal of receiving one million tourists. In this framework, tourism and airline companies are making discussions on further cooperation and mutual benefits. The role and participation of both the tourism and transport sectors is very important in this.

DIRECT FLIGHT TO THE U.S IS PLANNED

-Please give us details about the special tariff that is being discussed as the main topic.

-There is a space for tourism development except for peak summer months which are June, July and August. Tourists travel a lot during summer months in Mongolia. During summer, the workload of airline companies is the highest. Related to this, we are making a special tariff for tourism.

In particular, we are preparing a winter time schedule for tourists coming to Mongolia. In the framework of the government's policy, tourists who will participate in the events organized throughout 2023 will have flights with discounted prices.

In 2023, MIAT is expecting to make flights of 23,000 hours and sell about 750,000 seats. Before the pandemic, we used to make flights of 19,000 hours per annum. This year, we made a plan to have 4,000 hours more, which is the largest target in the history of MIAT.

In addition, we are planning to open direct flights to the United States in the first and second quarters of 2024. In this regard, before the peak summer season of 2023, MIAT will bring a wide body aircraft. This plane will make long distance flights. So there will be no shortage of planes.

Also, a 20-hour weekly flight will be made to Seoul. Six flights to Frankfurt, four to Istanbul and 11 to Beijing are planned weekly.

-People criticize that the flight ticket price is high compared to other countries.

-The special tariff for the winter schedule for tourists will be about 50% off the average tariff. We've worked hard on fuel and plane rentals, which make up the airfare. Starting from 2022, we started to buy fuel at a relatively low price. The related law was amended with the support of the Government and Parliament of Mongolia.

For example, the tariff for the Ulaanbaatar-Istanbul flight was reduced to MNT 1.8 million. The lowest price was MNT 3.8 million before MIAT opened the new Ulaanbaatar-Istanbul destination in April 2022. This is an example of the rapid decline in ticket prices. Ticket prices are expected to decrease in other destinations as well.

-Does it mean a special tariff will be applied after signing the memorandum? When will the implementation start?

-In the main provisions of the memorandum, it was reflected in the work on the basis of signing a contract. This memorandum is about MIAT will support the development of tourism in Mongolia in the future. No contract has been made yet.

Within the framework of the memorandum, we held a meeting with the Mongolian Tourism Association, and made discussions. MIAT should also look at their own benefits. We will work in a mutually beneficial way.

- Does the special tariff apply to tourists coming through a travel company?

-No, all tourists can get a special tariff. We can’t give advantage to certain companies. Therefore, the procedure for implementation of special tariffs is presented. Tourists using this tariff must participate in certain events, and there are requirements such as traveling to Mongolia with a group with at least 4 people. The reason we are talking about this discount is because the airline business depends on two things; one of them is seat occupancy. If the seat is not sold, the company will have a loss. If the seat occupancy is full, we will start lowering the prices accordingly. There is a policy of reducing prices and keeping seats fully sold.

-Thank you for the interview.

-Thank you.

There is an old building beside The Wrestling Palace in 6th Khoroo, Bayanzurkh district. The first Telecommunication Center was operated in this building in 1914 by order of the first Prime Minister of Mongolia T. Namnansuren. The Museum of Communication was also here from 1921-1998.

In 2004, the Government agency for State Procurement decided that “Van Khuu” LLC’s ownership was illegal. Therefore, the state registration certificate of the company was revoked and its ownership was given to the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications on February 11, 2020.

Law enforcement agencies repeatedly gave the notice to vacate the property for 2 years. Thus, on January 13, the building was evicted according to the ruling of the Bayanzurkh Civil Court.

MONTSAME News Agency interviewed Mr. Evariste Kouassi-Komlan who was appointed as the UNICEF Representative to Mongolia in November 2021. He has extensive experience with children's issues in the development and complex humanitarian contexts, with a focus on ensuring linkages between climate change and social sectors, and a history of establishing partnerships.

Education: Master of Science in Utility Management from UNESCO-IHE in the Netherlands, and a Certificate of Senior Leadership and Development from Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Good morning, Mr. Evariste Kouassi-Komlan. You have been in Mongolia for over a year now. What are your main wishes for the country in 2023?

-Since I arrived a year and one month ago in Mongolia, there have been a lot of substantial growth in many areas of the country. Mongolia has acceded to core human rights treaties and has set up an institutional mechanism to meet the commitments under international norms and standards.

Remarkable progress has been made in reducing child mortality rates, stunting and malnutrition, as well as expanding access to water and sanitation, kindergarten, and school. The past year's air pollution strategy and investment were also remarkable. There are still many works to do in different areas on children’s rights toward the achievement of Sustainable development goals.

My wishes for 2023 are more cohesion at all levels, stability in different institutions, and more resources to address child-related issues in the country. We all love children and wish all the children happiness and a healthy life in 2023.

UNICEF executive board approved the Mongolian New Country Programme, 2023-2027 in September last year. Can you tell us what the major shifts are?

-Well, we are incredibly happy that our New Country Programme 2023-2027 went through a very consultative and smooth process and was approved by the executive board of UNICEF on September 7, 2022. I want to express my profound gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries for their input and discussions around the programme before it went to our Executive Board.

Our ambition is to reach every child in all settings.

Over 50 years, the cooperation between Mongolia and UNICEF has been excellent. A lot of progress for children have been made over the decades. However, there are a lot of unfinished business and new issues that demand our full attention. These are concerning (1) child labor, (2) obesity, (3) quality education and online education, (4) water and sanitation, (5) online child abuse, (6) adolescent mental health, (7) air pollution, and ( climate change. These are all issues that UNICEF is working on in the New Country Programme 2023-2027.

First, our previous country programmeme targeted three geographical provinces. In this new programmeme, we expanded to cover nationwide, meaning we will evaluate each province based on strategic areas we've developed to meet the unique requirements of each province and then engage in a Fact Check discussion. During the Fact Check discussion, our team in UB will communicate with provincial governors and co-design solutions.

Secondly, there are some areas that require fundamental improvement. For instance, children screening, one of the top three issues in the health sector, and education. In the education sector, we will focus on digital learning, a challenge not only for Mongolia but for the entire world. We will address online protection as part of our focus on children's online safety in Child protection.

In the framework of the New Country programme, we should provide modern and energy-efficient solutions to reduce air pollution for the gers, and improve indoor air quality, especially in kindergartens, schools, hospitals, homes, and office spaces. Moreover, there is a need to provide good health and information services for people at risk.

In terms of the geographical scope, we need to expand our programme to other urban areas in the country and reach all the areas in the country based on Provincial needs.

As I said, our ambition is to move from specific geographical targeting as done in the previous years to reach every child in all settings.

One of the shifts the country will operate is the expansion of the Child protection programme. Can you elaborate more on this? Since Mongolia is facing an unprecedented child protection issue online and offline?

-The Child protection issue is one of the areas that we would like to put more emphasis through our new programme. We have revamped our child protection programme and put it as one of the key pillars of the programme due to the challenges that many children face during the pandemic.

We have witnessed numerous cases of online bullying and harassment that have become a major concern worldwide, not just in Mongolia. Children are at risk of becoming victims of online bullying and harassment accidentally and exposure to inappropriate content.

As most countries in East Asia and the Pacific region lack sufficient legislation and policies to protect children's safety online, some online abuse and exploitation are not fully criminalized. Children, parents, and teachers are not fully aware of the evolving risks posed online. Children (and their caregivers and teachers) need to have the knowledge and digital literacy skills, information to know what to do and where to seek help when they experience problems online, and to avoid becoming victims of online violence themselves.

So, it is one of the areas we need to train more people. Then, we can address the area proportionally based on the country's resources and capacities. To do that, we will cooperate with the ministries. Because it requires a cross-sectoral approach.

For solving the child protection issues in the country, every sector needs to work together such as Justice and Police, Education, Child Protection, and the Ministry of Digital communication, etc.

The next one is offline issues or domestic violence, which is one of the issues we are still facing. I believe the challenges we face now are how to collaborate with numerous organizations, including the Grass-Root Organization, to improve parenting and to engage in face-to-face discussions with families to reduce these types of abuses. The situation that children face in domestic settings will be our priority this coming year.

These circumstances motivate us to expand our child protection efforts in Mongolia.

In addition to the child protection shift, your vision is to work in all the provinces. What capacities and resources do you have available?

-So, we will spend over USD 60 million in the coming 5 years on our programme. Reaching every child approach is the core of our interventions. Our strategic interventions will focus on six main strategic interventions as described below and will form the basis of the identification of areas in need of our intervention.

1) System strengthening, 2) Evidence to promote child right issues, 3) Leveraging financial resources, 4) Building sustainable markets, 5) Empowering the community, 6) Delivery supplies.

We have started working with many provinces to identify the needs and where we can jointly contribute since 2021. In this case, our interventions can be beneficial and based on the needs of each province.

My last trips were to Sukhbaatar and Khentii aimags where we discussed more Integrated Earlier Child development, air pollution, and climate change issues.

With the technical assistance available in UNICEF and the ability to work at global standards and norms, we will be able to support most of the provinces and leverage domestic resources, including private sector resources for better results for the children in Mongolia.

Private sector plays a significant role in your new strategy. Can you tell us more about how you will work with the private sector?

-The private sector is a huge contributor to our goal globally. They contribute a lot in terms of financial resources, innovations, and many other aspects.

1) Innovation, expertise, and capabilities which businesses can bring through technologies, entrepreneurship; market-based solutions, and distribution networks; 2) Investment capacity, and managerial and operational expertise 3) The private sector's extensive networks and operations provide distribution channels to reach inclusive value chain actors ranging from SMEs to retailers and consumers; 4) The private sector's vast financial resources and expertise in market-based solutions have the potential for achieving scale and sustainability in tackling systemic environmental challenges; 5) Extended investment horizons based on asset lifespans; 6) Policy influence and the capability to deliver what in-country governments seek to achieve, such as improved service delivery, resilience to climate change, and human health that gives businesses a strong, knowledgeable voice to inform policy that supports transparent, inclusive sustainable development; and 7) Philanthropy.

UNICEF will collaborate with the private sector as follows: As an initiator: Creating new projects and initiatives that have real commercial potential for upscaling and transformation on a global scale. That can involve technical assistance, granting, or blended finance.

As a catalyzer (Broker): Fostering existing projects and initiatives (platforms) that have demonstrated potential to scale up, out, and deep. Top up these projects to reach the scale expected.

As a facilitator, supporting the conditions that can foster the creation of a forum, bring together key parties, reach into the public sector domain, build institutional capacity, and leverage existing local networks. Policy and regulatory support, provision of seed capital, and capacity building would be examples of facilitator roles.

Private sectors contribute significantly to our core global resources, and it is time to call for large private sector engagement to address child right issues in Mongolia.

The municipality of Ulaanbaatar city has officially named a street under UNICEF. What is your plan for that street?

-It is a huge recognition of the UNICEF work in Mongolia. Having a Street named after UNICEF is a great honor for us. It is not only UNICEF street but also the children’s street. So more collaboration, more intervention, and more contribution from many partners working on child right is required.

I wish our street would be children-friendly, and safe when children are crossing the road, walking alone, and standing on the street. Moreover, it would be full of entertainment that children can enjoy.

I would like to thank all the citizens in these areas, the district governor, and the municipality for this honor.

What are your wishes for all the children in 2023?

-My hope for Mongolia in 2023 is improved cohesion at all levels, institutional stability, and more resources to address Mongolia's most pressing issue. I would like to say to all the children in Mongolia, we are here for you, we love you, and we wish you a year of joy and love. As you know, we love children, we will keep loving them, and wish them incredibly good prospects and hopes for the new year.

2023 is the beginning of the Our New Country Programme, which will be implemented till 2027. This New Country Programme is calling upon all the citizens and private sectors in Mongolia to join this effort that we are making.

Thank you!