Türkiye and Mongolia signed an intergovernmental memorandum of cooperation in tourism and exchanged views on expanding cooperation in this field.

Ankara adopts relevant laws and decisions regarding tourism with a focus on sustainable development, and it is possible to increase the flow of foreign tourists to Mongolia through flights of Turkish Airlines.

The two ministers also exchanged views on the creation of a tourist complex in the Orkhon Valley in central Mongolia, construction of an airport, organization of tourist exhibitions, participation in conferences, and implementation of joint projects in the field of tourism.

For his part, Minister of Environment and Tourism, B.Bat-Erdene asked for cooperation and support in four areas: the organization of a forum, a joint exhibition of the 14th-century literature and history work Compendium of Chronicles, and construction of an international airport in the Kharkhorin town near the UNESCO World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape.

He also noted that the discovery of the ruins of a summer palace and settlement of the Mongolian ruler Hulegu Khan by a Mongolian researcher “opened a new page in the history of cultural relations” between Mongolia and Türkiye.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1969, gaining new momentum with the opening of embassies reciprocally in Ankara and Ulaanbaatar in 1996-1997. Over 100 bilateral agreements have been signed so far to strengthen the legal basis of bilateral cooperation.

In 2011, Mongolia honored Türkiye with the “third neighbor” status, along with the US, EU, Japan, South Korea, and India.

Foxconn, which makes iPhones for Apple, says it is deepening its investment in a US electric pick-up truck firm, which could challenge Tesla's Cybertruck.

The technology giant is spending up to $170m (£147.8m) on shares in the loss-making start-up Lordstown Motors.

The major cash injection comes as the company aims to ramp up production of its debut model, the Endurance.

Lordstown recently began building the vehicle at a former General Motors plant in the US state of Ohio.

Under the deal, the world's biggest contract manufacturer of electronics bought a more than 18% stake in Lordstown, making it the biggest investor in the company.

"Since announcing our first transaction with Foxconn more than a year ago, it has been our objective to develop a broad strategic partnership that leverages the capabilities of both companies," Lordstown's executive chairman Daniel Ninivaggi said.

"Foxconn's latest investment is another step in that direction," he added.

The two companies also said they would jointly develop an electric vehicle together, although they did not give further details of the plan.

The tie-up came after the world's biggest electric carmaker Tesla, which is owned by multi-billionaire Elon Musk, was earlier this month reported by the Reuters news agency to be planning to start mass production of its Cybertruck at the end of 2023.

That would be two years after the original target for the highly-anticipated pick-up truck that Mr Musk unveiled in 2019.

Taiwan-based Foxconn's investment is the latest cash injection into Lordstown as it continues to run at a loss.

Separately on Monday, figures for the three months to the end of September showed a net loss of $154.4m, wider than the $95.8m loss the company reported for the same time last year.

Shares in Lordstown rose by almost 18% in extended trading in New York after the announcements.

Last week Foxconn agreed a deal with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to produce electric vehicles in the kingdom.

The joint venture will operate under the brand name Ceer, which sounds like the Arabic word for "drive".

Ceer will license technology from Germany's BMW and aims to start selling its electric vehicles from 2025.

The deal is part of Saudi Arabia's push to move its economy away from its dependence on fossil fuels.

Last month Foxconn's chairman Liu Young-way said he hopes the company will one day make cars for Tesla as it ramps up electric vehicle manufacturing operation.

Speaking at the company's annual Tech Day, he said the firm aimed to replicate its success in manufacturing consumer devices as it expands into making electric vehicles for major motor industry brands.

Turquoise Hill said it has once again postponed by a week its special shareholder meeting to vote on the proposed takeover by Rio Tinto on a request by the mining giant.

The meeting to approve Rio Tinto acquiring 49% of shares of Turquoise Hill that it does not own for $3.3 billion, initially scheduled for Nov. 1, was postponed to Nov. 8, and has now been pushed back to Nov. 15.

Turquoise Hill said Rio, which raised its offer to C$43-per-share, had postponed the meeting at the request of the financial regulator of Quebec and was in talks with the Canadian company’s special committee of independent directors and the regulator about the deal.

(By Gokul Pisharody; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)

During the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly First Committee meeting on October 28, the UN confirmed Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations V. Enkhbold presented the draft resolution at this year`s First committee session. In his statement, Ambassador Enkhbold noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status and that this internationally recognized status is Mongolia’s tangible contribution to building a world free of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, Ambassador highlighted the importance of the 2012 declarations by the five nuclear-weapon States on Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status. Since 1998, the United Nations General Assembly has been considering and adopting a resolution on “Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status” biennially. At this year’s First Committee session, 46 Member States co-sponsored the resolution.

WHAT IS A NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE?

A nuclear-weapon-free zone refers to a country or region that is prohibited from using, testing, transporting, or developing nuclear weapons as part of a specific agreement. Previously, there were five Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs), covering territories in most of the Southern Hemisphere and Central Asia except Mongolia. Antarctica has a special nuclear-weapon-free status as well.

The Treaty of Tlatelolco of 1967`s was the first treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the 40 years since the signing of this historic agreement, the following treaties including South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga, 1985), Southeast Asia (Treaty of Bangkok, 1995), Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba, 1996), and Central Asia (Treaty of Semipalatinsk, 2007), were established respectively and most of the populated areas of the Southern Hemisphere generally belong to the nuclear-weapon-free zone.

In addition, other treaties deal with the denuclearization of geographical regions. For example, the Antarctic Treaty (1959), the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War, set aside the continent as a scientific preserve, establishing freedom of scientific investigation, and banning military activity, because of the Antarctic accounts for 90 percent of Earth`s total ice volume and 70 percent of its fresh water; and the Seabed Treaty (1971) which is the treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil thereof. However, the entire continent has been denuclearized by the Antarctic Treaty, while the Seabed Treaty covers only the South Pacific Ocean. Furthermore, the Outer Space Treaty, which was adopted in 1967, also contains provisions to keep outer space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, free from nuclear weapons and the Moon agreement (1979) as well.

MONGOLIA`S EFFORT TO BECOME A NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE

As for Mongolia, in September 1992, the country launched an initiative to become a nuclear-weapon-free zone and announced it internationally. While most countries can form nuclear-weapon-free zones with their neighbors, that is not an option for Mongolia, a landlocked country sandwiched between two nuclear giants, China and Russia. It thus declared itself a single-state nuclear-weapon-free area in 1992. So, Mongolia is the only country in the world with self-declared nuclear-weapon-free status and has achieved certain success in the field of recognition.

Mongolia has been making efforts to gain international recognition of its nuclear-weapon-free status, and as a result of these efforts, a decision supported by the United Nations General Assembly was made in 1998. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of declaring as a NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE, Mongolia and the five States (Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) signed parallel declarations at United Nations Headquarters concerning security assurances in 2012.

In its declaration, Mongolia, based on its legislation of 2000, not only reaffirmed the general prohibitions implemented under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons but also pledged not to station or transport nuclear weapons or parts or components of such weapons nor nuclear waste by any means through its territory and welcomed the pledges made by the five nuclear-weapon States in 2000 and on 17 September 2012.

NUCLEAR-FREE MONGOLIA A ‘SYMBOL OF PEACE IN A TROUBLED WORLD

In recent years, there have been demands and initiatives to establish a free zone of mass destruction and nuclear weapons. Especially in the Middle East, Central Europe, and South Asia, the issue of creating such a zone is being discussed. So, Mongolia is an example and a way of countries that cannot join the NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE due to its geographical location, but are interested in self-declaring the NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE status and ensuring its security.

The establishment of many nuclear-weapon-free zones affects the interests of countries interested in conducting tests on the territory of others due to their small territories. However, at a time when the danger of war is increasing day by day, the countries that are free of nuclear weapons are becoming more united, and ensuring their security by the current international legal norms has become a vital issue.

Mongolia has planted a total of 10.2 million trees across the country since the launch of its national tree-planting campaign "Billion Trees" last year.

Among the total planted trees, 1.3 million have been planted in and near the national capital Ulan Bator, which is home to over half of the country's population, local media reported on Monday, citing the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

In October 2021, Mongolia launched the nationwide tree-planting campaign as the country's president Ukhnaa Khurelsukh told the United Nations General Assembly that the campaign aims to plant at least a billion trees by 2030 to combat desertification.

By the target year, the campaign is projected to increase the country's forest coverage to at least 9 percent and reduce carbon emissions by around 600,000 tons.

Desertification and land degradation have already affected 77 percent of Mongolia's total territory, only 7.9 percent of which is now covered by forests, according to the ministry.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate has ordered the arrest of Hu Yifeng, former president of the Higher People's Court of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and secretary of the court's leading Party members group, for suspected bribe-taking.

The National Commission of Supervision has completed an investigation into Hu's case and handed it over to prosecutors, the SPP said.

Further handling of the case is underway.

The representatives led by Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry J. Ganbaatar visited Mount Thorley Warkworth coal mine of Yancoal mining company, which operates in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia, on November 2022.

This is the largest open-cut mine in the state that has been operating since 1982 and will continue to be used for another 16 years.

After becoming acquainted with the mine, the representatives met with management to exchange views and discuss the coal royalties in New South Wales, government policies aimed at supporting the operations of the companies in the mining industry, mine closure plans, related regulations, and enforcement, and ecological restoration practices.

The working visit of the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry, J. Ganbaatar, to Australia has been organized successfully within the framework of the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC). During the visit, meetings were held with leaders in the mining industry, investors, and leaders of the best techniques, technologies, and innovations. He also studied experience, gave information to investors about the policy followed in the mineral resources field of Mongolia, had an open discussion, and sought investment opportunities for development.