Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Moscow in late March and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin shifted the global spotlight to Northeast Asia. In Mongolia, the country’s close proximity to Beijing and Moscow has created unease with the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and the China-U.S. economic tensions. Despite these geopolitical conundrums, Ulaanbaatar’s foreign policy adheres to its longstanding approach of maintaining strong ties with its geographic neighbors, while actively engaging the “third neighbor” countries.

In the days leading up to the Putin-Xi meeting and throughout the three-day visit, the increasing attention to Northeast Asia stressed the growing importance of Ulaanbaatar’s geopolitical position as a single democratic country sandwiched between two growing authoritarian regimes that are deemed to be anti-Western.

However, to Mongolia, a meeting between the leaders of its neighbors is nothing unusual. In fact, during these high-level meetings, Mongolia seeks economic and cooperation opportunities to strengthen diplomatic and economic trilateral ties. One major development that was reportedly under discussion between Xi and Putin was the potential launch of the Russia-Mongolia-China trilateral Power of Siberia-2 pipeline.

Mongolia hopes to become a transit partner for its neighbors. Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai mentioned the necessary steps of this mega project in a separate interview before the Putin-Xi meeting. He told Reuters, “After Russia and China decide on the pricing, Mongolia will decide on how they can use its territory to transport the gas.”

Beyond the importance of Mongolia’s economic gains from such a high-level meeting, Ulaanbaatar, too, hoped that Xi could convince Putin to seek a peaceful solution to the ongoing war in Ukraine, so that China and Russia can continue their strong relations. As it currently stands, Beijing might be feeling pressure from the international community.

While the current geopolitical context has shifted, China-Mongolia-Russia trilateral relations are well positioned to weather the storm. Their trilateral mechanisms are historically rooted but also extremely relevant today.

Ulaanbaatar’s trilateral relationship with Beijing and Moscow is driven by the interconnectedness of the three countries’ economies, particularly in the energy sector. Mongolia’s abundance of minerals makes China an crucial economic partner. Moscow, on the other hand, is irreplaceable as an energy supplier. Hence, from this point of view, it is important for Mongolia to continue prioritizing economic ties with both Russia and China – but to do so while maintaining its democratic values.

Despite Beijing and Moscow’s increasingly authoritarian governance, Mongolia continues to adhere to democratic values and principles. The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) ranked Mongolia’s “political transformation” toward democracy at 7.25 out of a max score of 10, good for 26th out of 137 countries included in the rankings (and well above the global average of 5.4). Mongolia tops the score table for what BTI calls the region of “post-Soviet Eurasia,” which includes Mongolia as well as countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Russia’s political score was 4.40, in the “moderate autocracy” category, while China’s was 3.23, making it a “hard-line autocracy.” The fact that Mongolia’s governance is not following the trend of its neighbors should be recognized, even while its democracy must be strengthened constantly.

Mongolia’s bilateral relations with Russia and China go beyond Xi and Putin’s long reigns as head of state. While Mongolia’s foreign policy supports the strengthening of economic and diplomatic ties with both Beijing and Moscow, the aim is to adhere to Mongolia’s democratic concepts and principles.

Moreover, the relationship between Russia and Mongolia on one hand and China and Mongolia on the other are not the same either. But to maximize foreign policy flexibility and economic strength, Mongolia’s comprehensive strategic partnerships with Russia and China are paramount. And these relations are intertwined with history, people-to-people relations, deep cultural ties, and other important aspects that make up strong bilateral ties.

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Mongolia’s foreign policy will continue to support peaceful dialogues that strengthen both regional and global security. While Mongolia may refrain from getting directly involved in armed conflicts, its non-military contribution such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief funds, deserve recognition.

While relations with China and Russia has irreplaceable value for Mongolia’s economy, what is equally important to Mongolia is each state’s peaceful, non-threatening existence and multilateral collaborations.

Given Mongolia’s geopolitical constraints, some analysts underestimate Mongolia’s third neighbor’s foreign policy due to its strong ties with Russia and China. However, oftentimes these perspectives view Mongolia from the Cold War narrative, which boxes Ulaanbaatar into the Beijing-Moscow periphery, not necessarily an independent agent of foreign policy. With this constricted viewpoint, one cannot assess the strength, potential, or significance of Ulaanbaatar’s independent foreign policy and all its working mechanisms.

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Bolor Lkhaajav

Bolor Lkhaajav is a researcher specializing in Mongolia, China, Russia, Japan, East Asia, and the Americas. She holds an M.A. in Asia-Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco.

The Government of Mongolia has launched a new online platform to enable businesses to easily start up and grow, reducing both waiting times and bureaucracy.

"E-Business" – e-business.mn – was developed by young engineers at the E-Mongolia Academy and launched by the Prime Minister of Mongolia. It marks the next step in the digital transformation of the Mongolian economy.

On average, 1,540 new legal entities are established in Mongolia each month, yet those setting up new businesses often have to visit the state registration office and financial institutions several times before they can get up and running. Once they start trading, businesses in Mongolia have previously faced unnecessary bureaucracy.

E-Business will streamline exchanges between businesses and government agencies and also make it possible to register a business in Mongolia from anywhere in the world. Services that can be accessed via the platform include obtaining a legal entity name, registering a business property list and obtaining an electronic certificate.

By making the permitting system more transparent, the platform will also support the Government's efforts to combat corruption. The launch of E-Business comes as the anti-corruption agency submitted its formal strategy to tackle corruption in Mongolia to the country's parliament today (11 April). This document is set to form Mongolia's first national strategy to combat corruption, and deliver benefits such as resolving the cases of corrupt officials, extraditing criminals who have fled abroad and removing the immunity of politically exposed persons (such as members of parliament). Placing public consultation at the heart of the policy development process is also a primary objective of the strategy.

Following the creation of the E-Business platform, establishing a new business in Mongolia can take place at reduced cost and in as little as two days, putting Mongolia in the same company as many advanced economies on this metric.

Commenting on the launch of E-Business, the Prime Minister of Mongolia L. Oyun-Erdene said:

"The greater use of digital technology is a core part of modernising Mongolia's economy and making our country a better place to do business.

"The launch of E-Business today is a key step on this journey. By eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy while also playing a key role in helping us tackle corruption, this new platform is vital in making Mongolia more business-friendly and attracting the foreign investment needed to support our long-term growth."

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/.../new-mongolian-e-business...

SOURCE The Government of Mongolia

Interest rates in major economies are expected to fall to pre-pandemic levels because of low productivity and ageing populations, according to a forecast.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said increases in borrowing costs are likely to be "temporary" once high inflation is brought under control.

The Bank of England has been raising interest rates since December 2021, taking them from 0.1% to 4.25%.

This has raised mortgage payments for many homeowners.

Central banks in the UK, the US, Europe and other nations have been lifting interest rates to combat the rate of price rises, otherwise known as inflation.

In the UK, inflation is at its highest for nearly 40 years because of rising energy prices and soaring food costs. A number of factors are fuelling inflation, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine which has helped drive up energy costs.

However, in a blog the IMF said that "recent increases in real interest rates are likely to be temporary".

It added "When inflation is brought back under control, advanced economies' central banks are likely to ease monetary policy and bring real interest rates back towards pre-pandemic levels."

The IMF did not say, however, exactly when interest rates were set to fall back to lower levels.

The Washington-based financial institution said ageing populations would be one factor likely to lower inflation.

Explaining why older people affect inflation, George Godber, fund manager at Polar Capital, said that they tend to spend less.

"The amount that you spend relative to your income is highest when you're in your 20s, 30s and 40s - often that's maybe young families, when you've got households forming, you've got couples coming together, they tend to spend the most when they decorate and buy a car or whatever, and you as you get older in life you slow down your consumption," he told the BBC's Today programme.

"There's less heading to Glastonbury and nights out on the town, there's more sitting at home and watching the Antiques Roadshow, so therefore your spending patterns sort of reduce and you save more and so an ageing population tends to be disinflationary."

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, said recently that in the UK, the share of adults aged between 20 and 59 years-old has fallen to below 65% in the past decade "and it is set to decline further in the coming years".

He said that this has been driven by a decline in birth rates as well as people living for longer.

The IMF also said low productivity - the measure of how many goods and services are produced - would bring inflation down.

In a speech last month, Mr Bailey said that prior to the financial crisis in 2008, UK productivity had been boosted by the country's manufacturing sector.

"But following the financial crisis, manufacturing productivity growth fell back sharply. This fall in manufacturing productivity is the main cause of the slowdown," he said.

Just prior to the Covid pandemic, the UK's interest rate was 0.75% but the Bank of England cut it twice in March 2020 to 0.1% as the country entered lockdown.

The rate of inflation has risen steadily over the past couple of years and hit 10.4% in February - more than five times higher than the Bank of England's 2% target.

Following the decision to raise UK interest rates again in March, the Bank of England said that it expected inflation "to fall sharply over the rest of the year".

This is due to the government's continuing help with household heating bills through the Energy Price Guarantee scheme as well as falling wholesale gas prices.

However, Mr Bailey declined to say whether he believed that interest rates had reached a peak.

The “Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development” (FORUM-ASIA) conducted fact-finding research in October 2022 and held its report launch on “From Dreams to Dust: Examining the Impact of Mining on Herder Communities in Mongolia” on April 10, 2023.

The research team collected testimonies and data from a wide range of stakeholders in Dalanjargalan, Ulaanbadrakh, and Khatanbulag soums of Dornogobi aimag. They shed light on the harmful and sometimes fatal impact of mining operations on the communities’ rights, including their health, livelihoods, and environment.

Based on the findings of the research, the “Forum-Asia” has developed recommendations for each stakeholder at the local, national, and international levels, including government, mining companies, human rights defenders, media, etc. At a national level, one of the recommendations was to establish more detailed and well-rounded criteria for granting and renewing licenses on exploration and extraction, with clear guidelines for respecting and protecting the community’s right to a healthy, safe, and clean environment.

Head of the Centre for Human Rights and Development, which participated in this research as a partner, G. Urantsooj encouraged the mining companies to fully comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and all relevant national laws and regulations on mining, human rights, and environmental protection at the report launch. Moreover, she said that the companies must rehabilitate and restore the land once operations are completed, ensuring minimal long-term impact on the environment and surrounding communities.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a network of 85 member organizations across 23 countries, mainly in Asia. Founded in 1991, FORUM-ASIA works to strengthen movements for human rights and sustainable development through research, advocacy, capacity development, and solidarity actions in Asia and beyond. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and a consultative relationship with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.

The Kazakh people’s annual Golden Eagle Festival is a chance for hunters to show off their skills and engage the next generation. Eagle hunters love to use their centuries-old horse and eagle equipment in a traditional way, from their forefathers, and … are keen to pass them on to the next generation. In order to do this, they need to show it, need to promote it, and need to be an example while they are gathering at the same place, such as the annual eagle festival. Photographers help them to promote and raise awareness.

This type of tourism also brings vital funds, without which most eagle hunters could no longer afford to train their birds; a trained golden eagle needs around 160 kilos of meat per year at no small cost. Full-time eagle hunters are also domestic animal herders and most of them have no job so they earn from tourism activities.

10 Mongolian political parties signed the “POLITICAL PARTY PLEDGE FOR EQUAL REPRESENTATION IN DECISION-MAKING” during the International Forum: “Pledge for equal representation in decision-making,” organized by UNDP’s 'Promoting gender equality in public decision-making and women's empowerment in Mongolia' project, funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA.)

By signing the Pledge, political parties, as the key institutions responsible for strengthening Mongolia’s representative democracy, are demonstrating their commitment to support gender equality and ensure women’s participation and equal representation in decision-making thus fully acknowledging the fundamental rights of all citizens to participate and to represent. The pledge covers the following 8 areas:

As the institution of representative democracy, the parties will work together with the lawmakers to:

Support the maturation of political parties as policy institutions by increasing the transparency of political party financing, strengthening internal party democracy, setting accountability standards, and supporting gender equality,

Adopt an electoral system that promotes gender equality in decision-making along with the reforms to increase the candidacy quota, to reduce election campaign costs, and to ensure the equal representation and participation of diverse groups in decision-making processes,

To become a political party that is gender-responsive with internal party democracy, they will:

Strengthen internal democracy by reforming, implementing, and making transparent the party policies, bylaws, regulations, and initiatives in a gender-responsive manner and eliminating discrimination and harmful stereotypes and attitudes,

Ensure at least 40 percent representation of each gender at all decision-making levels in the party and make a concerted effort to include the representation of diverse groups,

Develop and implement programs to support the leadership of women party members,

Ensure gender parity in election candidate nominations and political appointments and put in place financial support mechanisms to foster equal and fair competition,

Develop and implement policies and programs to prevent gender-based violence,

And collaborate with the public and non-government organizations to combat harmful gender stereotypes and to raise awareness on the importance of equal representation in decision-making.

Ms. Elaine Conkievich, UNDP Mongolia Resident Representative, emphasized the importance of concerted efforts and contribution from everyone to achieve gender-equality in decision-making in Mongolia and stated “Now is the time to take bold and decisive action to ensure that women, have an equal opportunity to participate in shaping the decisions that affect, not only women, but us all. Thus, I commend the leaders of the parties who signed the pledge, solidifying your commitment to take concrete action” during her opening remarks.

Deputy Country Director of KOICA Mongolia office Ms. Jongrye Kang highlighted the importance of gender quotas in the legislation and stated “This is a crucial step towards ensuring that women's voices are heard, and their interests are represented in decision-making processes. I urge all participants to support the pledge and place more importance on the implementation of the measures which are vital for a fruitful outcome” during the forum.

About UNDP

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

About KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency)

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) was established as a government agency in 1991, is dedicated to providing grant aid programs of the Government of the Republic of Korea. KOICA endeavors to combat poverty and support the sustainable socio-economic growth of partner countries. For more information, visit http://koica.go.kr

Further information: Erdenechimeg.Erdene | Communications Officer | 'Promoting gender equality in public decision-making and women's empowerment in Mongolia' project | UNDP Mongolia | erdenechimeg.erdene@undp.org

The U.S. military advisors strengthen the partnership with Mongolia amid its growing dependence on neighboring Russia and China.

The latest Army news release said two advisor teams from 2nd Battalion, 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade, partnered with the Mongolian Land Forces Command during a multi-month rotation into theater beginning in Oct. 2022, focused on strengthening Mongolia’s peacekeeping operations and non-commissioned officer development initiatives.

Since early 2021, 5th SFAB has maintained a persistent partnership with Mongolia’s LFC, the army component of the Mongolian Armed Forces.

The two teams that employed to support this partnership over the course of the current force package are Company Advisor Team 5220 and Maneuver Advisor Team 5223.

“Both CAT 5220 and MAT 5223 have been employed in Mongolia before,” said Maj. Steve Morse, Team Leader for CAT 5220. “We benefit immensely from the country experience and continuity of relationships on both teams this persistent partnership provides.”

Morse is the commander of 5th SFAB operations in Mongolia.

“The continuity enriches our Advisors’ relationships and advising efforts, and with our partners, it ensures we remain closely aligned with their priorities,” Morse said.

In support of those priorities, advisors have been providing daily advising at the tactical level over the last several months in small unit leadership, interoperability and NCO development.

Staff Sgt. Richard Kennedy, the team medical advisor, is one of several with previous advising experience in Mongolia and noted “previous time in Mongolia helped me to grasp the cultural and army differences better, allowing me to communicate, instruct and create relationships more effectively.”

Earlier this year, both teams supported a bilateral exercise called Zev, which translates to “arrow tip,” focused on these training objectives in an extreme cold weather environment — an operating environment with which Mongolia is very familiar.

“The unit commander and I spoke often, and he’d often rib us about the weather,” related Maj. Morse. “‘It says here ‘Extreme Cold Weather training,’ he’d tell me, referring to part of the title of the event. ‘In Mongolia, this is not extreme.’”

In Mongolia, temperatures frequently dipped to -40 degrees and below during training.

“We ensured all our advisors had basic cold weather training, including several with advanced training from the Alaska schoolhouse,” Morse said.

“We combined with the Mongolians’ mastery of the elements and experience, creating conditions for a powerful subject matter exchange opportunity throughout training.”

Staff Sgt. Michael Catanzaro, the senior operations advisor for MAT 5223, and Staff Sgt. Roy Wilson, the team’s assistant operations advisor, completed cold weather training taught by the Northern Warfare Training Center.

The NWTC is located at the Black Rapids Training Site in Alaska, this was an integral part of the team’s preparation for the winter training.

“The [Cold Weather Leader’s Course] covered multiple topics from preventing injuries, to maintaining equipment, to land navigation, all in extreme cold and mountainous terrain,” Catanzaro explained. “The training allowed us to provide a baseline of knowledge to both our own advisors and our Mongolian partners.

Headquartered at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, 5th SFAB advisors have limited ability to train on cold weather operations.

“This training helped us have an exchange about how to use our issued cold weather gear, prevent cold weather injuries and conduct combined small unit operations,” Catanzaro said.

Staff Sgt. Wilson, who completed the Isolation Survival Cold Region Course, added, “the exchange of knowledge helped us to understand each others’ gear and equipment and allowed us to conduct squad and platoon operations safely.”

In addition to cold weather training, MAT 5223 also benefited from their experience training with partners at the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center in Hawaii earlier in the employment.

“After JPMRC, the team was in an effective mindset to integrate with Mongolian LFC,” explained MAT 5223 Team Leader, Capt. Dylan Ward.

“JPMRC gave us extra experience in developing programs of instruction to train with a partner force, team resiliency from conducting a field training exercise in austere conditions, and useful context in training small unit operations after seeing partner integration during a real, large-scale exercise,” Ward said.

Advisors have also supported Mongolia’s initiatives to expand its NCO development.

“Last summer, in 2022, SFAB advisors supported the inaugural rotation of the Junior Sergeant Course, a course which complements existing NCO education in the Mongolian National Defense University,” describes 1st Sgt. Fernando Villafana, the team’s senior NCO.

SFAB Advisors were integrated into the program of instruction. “Our team is supporting the current course, with Mongolian instructors-in-training who will begin lead in future courses,” said Villafana.

Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Rouse, an infantryman currently serving as CAT 5220’s Senior Support Advisor, explained how these initiatives are connected.

“NCO development is an important complementary effort to small unit leadership and peacekeeping operations,” Rouse said. “The NCO training focus on ingraining fundamental leadership qualities into junior Sergeants at the squad level. This is critical training to enable them to better plan, prepare and execute tasks at echelon.”

In addition to training, the Mongolians have welcomed advisors into their cultural and social experiences.

Sgt. 1st Class Lester Reed, CAT 5220’s fires advisor, explains: “Cultural activities lets them know that we are invested in them and gives everyone a break from the training. Basketball [a popular sport in both countries] was a great way for them to work as a team and build chemistry.”

“In a particularly special event, the advisors’ Mongolian partners hosted us for a celebration of Tsagaan Sar (meaning White Moon, the Mongolian Lunar New Year),” Morse said. “The Mongolians invited us into a traditional ger, owned by the cattle farmer who provides meat for the local unit.”

Advisors had the opportunity to ride horses, help with farming chores, and participate in Mongolian traditions.

“These professional relationships extend beyond advisors’ efforts while on the force package, as they work together again at other exercises, conferences or train together again in Mongolia, Morse said.”

The 5th SFAB Advisors of Force Package 23-1 in Mongolia will transition efforts to the next force package to continue the partnership into the summer of 2023.

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About this Author

Colton Jones

Colton Jones is the deputy editor of Defence Blog. He is a US-based journalist, writer and publisher who specializes in the defense industry in North America and Europe. He has written about emerging technology in military magazines and elsewhere. He is a former Air Force soldier and served at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.