Tomorrow is the last day of the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Asia and Oceania Championship.

The third game was between Mongolia (the host team) and Turkmenistan on March 15, the fourth day of the championship. Turkmenistan led by as many as 2 points in the first period. Then, striker M. Chinzolboo (No.18) of the host country shot a goal to tie the game up at 3-3 by successfully attacking the opposing team's goalkeeper in the second period of the game.

The winner will face off in the final of the championship. The team of Turkmenistan turned things around. They pulled within 2 points at the interval 6-4 right before the end of regulation and conquered the host team.

In order to tie the score 5-4, the Mongolian team replaced its goalkeeper with a striker with just 1.32 minutes left in regulation. When the game continued, Turkmenistan punched a victorious shot into the defenseless goal of Mongolia and captured their 3rd win.

Athletes are resting today /2023-3-16/. Tomorrow, Turkmenistan will play against Iran, and Mongolia will fight against Thailand.

Previous results:

The UAE 6-2 Thailand

Uzbekistan 5-0 Turkmenistan

Mongolia 5-0 Iran

Iran 1-14 Uzbekistan

Thailand 3-4 Turkmenistan

Thailand 8-0 Iran

The UAE 2-7 Turkmenistan

Mongolia 4-7 Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan 10-2 Thailand

The UAE 2-7 Iran

Mongolia 4-6 Turkmenistan

After hitting last year’s target, Turkiye and Mongolia are aiming to push their trade volume to at least USD 500 million in the coming period before the two countries celebrate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

“Next year, Turkiye and Mongolia will celebrate the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, and therefore investment deals signed beforehand need to be revised and updated,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at a joint presser with his Mongolian counterpart B.Battsetseg following a one-on-one meeting, notably the first of its kind 31 years, in the capital Ankara.

“We have discussed bilateral relations and underlined that these need to be improved by cooperating on many fields,” Cavusoglu informed, noting as steps to be taken include the increase of civilian and cargo flights, boosting quotas for land transports and eliminating obstacles in front of trade, as well as in education and culture, mainly due to historical and cultural ties between the two nations.

Turkiye offered Mongolia to elevate our bilateral ties from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership, and we are waiting for their answer,” Cavusoglu revealed.

Cavusoglu further thanked Mongolia for their support in the wake of the earthquakes that left over 48,000 dead in Turkiye’s southeast. “A 37-person team from Mongolia rescued eight people from the rubble in the Hatay province,” Cavusoglu informed, adding that the country supplied tents, including traditional Mongolian tents, for the victims. “We are especially grateful to the Mongolian people who have continued their humanitarian support to Turkiye since day one,” he said.

The Turkish diplomat said he also thanked B.Battsetseg for Mongolia’s help in fighting the Gulenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and that she confirmed no FETÖ member was left in the country.

“We have cooperated in the fight against terrorism before, and there have been conflicts in the past because of this, but this group is a threat to everyone, not just Turkiye. It’s a threat for Mongolia, as well,” Cavusoglu said. “Some of their schools in Mongolia were taken over by a shell company in Germany. Therefore, we gave them a friendly warning to be always vigilant about FETÖ.”

In light of Mongolia’s potential of joining the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) as an observer member, Çavuşoğlu said the organization was working to reinforce ties with all Asian nations and institutions, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and reinstate a holistic approach to the region with more than 1,000 concrete projects.

For her part, B.Battsetseg emphasized that the Mongolian people “stand in harmony with Turkiye” and affirmed she and Cavusoglu agreed on “working to achieve a strategic partnership and carry out mutual, high-level visits on the 55th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.”

“We also reached a consensus on collaborating for projects that could symbolize bilateral relations,” B.Battsetseg said.

“The contribution of Türkiye’s humanitarian, diplomatic activity to the global community has been proven, be it during the COVID-19 pandemic, be it in the Russia-Ukraine war,” she concluded.

During its regular session on March 15, 2023, the Cabinet made the following decisions:

Five “W” Operations to Combat Corruption to be Intensified

The Government of Mongolia has declared 2023 as the “Year to Combat Corruption" and started the five “W” operations to combat corruption. According to Mr. Nyambaatar, the Minister of Justice and Home Affairs and the Chair of the Working Group of the “Wasp” Operation, within the framework of the “Wasp” operation, overseas fugitives will be brought back to the jury according to the international agreements and Mongolian laws, ensuring the streamlined process of investigation.

Within the scope of the “Whistleblowing” Operation, a bill on protecting whistleblowers who are reporting corruption and misconduct for public interests will be discussed at the spring session of the State Great Khural and required measures to reduce bureaucracy in public services and protect legitimate interests of individuals and private sectors will be taken. In pursuant to the No. 20 Ordinance of the Prime Minister, a working group, led by Deputy Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Solongoo, for the “Whistleblowing” operation was set up. The members of the working group work at the Government’s “11-11” center every Friday and meet with citizens. Minister of Mongolia and Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Mr. Amarbayasgalan was mandated to organize the “Wiping-out” and “Wealth” operations and Minister of Digital Development and Communication Mr. Uchral was tasked to be responsible for the “Wide-open” operation.

Moreover, the Prime Minister mandated the working groups in charge of five “W” operations to intensify their activities and present the results at the Cabinet meeting every month.

Certificate of Honor of the Government will be awarded to the team members who participated in humanitarian relief and search and rescue operations in Turkey.

The Cabinet decided to award the “Search and Rescue team”, led by Deputy Chief of the National Emergency Management Agency, Brigadier-General Mr. Uuganbayar, and the “Medical team” of the Ministry of Defense, led by Colonel Mr. Sukh-Ochir with the Certificate of Honor of the Government, recognizing their demonstration of skill, bravery, resilience, compassion, and humanity of Mongolians and honorably fulfilling their duties and responsibilities.

During the extraordinary session of the Government dated February 7, it was decided to send humanitarian aid to the people of the Republic of Turkey and the Syrian Arab Republic, who were affected by the deadly earthquake. On February 8 or 68 hours after the earthquake, the Mongolian search and rescue team of 41 members, including 24 rescuers from the NEMA and 11 officers from Mongolian armed forces, and some media representatives, landed in Hatay province, Turkey, and started participating in the rescue operations.

In 10 days, the rescue team rescued 8 people from under the rubble of the building and took them to the health care facility, and the bodies of 19 people were handed over to the relevant authorities. With the help of their two search dogs, named Balu and Marta, they also located 45 bodies of people who lost their lives in the earthquake. The medical group, based on the local hospital, provided medical care to 649 people. In addition, five tons of meat, one ton of candles, 1000 blankets, and 20 complete Mongolian gers were sent to Turkey. The gers were built and handed over to the Turkish side with other humanitarian aid.

Mongolia will take a decision on which part of its territory will be used to construct the Russia-China gas pipeline once its neighbours reach an agreement on costs, the country's prime minister said.

Russian energy company Gazprom (GAZP.MM) is planning to build the 2,600 km Power-of-Siberia 2 gas pipeline to supply 50 billion cubic metres of gas per year to China by 2030.

Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene told Reuters on Tuesday that talks between its two big neighbours had been put on the back burner due to the Ukraine war, but there was a likelihood of them coming back to the negotiating table.

After Russia and China decide on the pricing, Mongolia will decide on how they can use its territory to transport the gas, Oyun-Erdene said.

Nearly 80% of Mongolia's total exports go to China, but the mineral-rich country is working to expand trade and mining relationships beyond China and Russia and hopes to become a bridge between Europe and Asia.

"We're discussing cooperation in the rare earth elements sector; having discussions with German and French sites on copper production, and enhancing our private sector partnership with the Republic of Korea and Japan," Oyun-Erdene said.

On Monday, the country started its long-delayed underground production at the Oyu Tolgoi project, in which it has a 34% stake, with Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) owning the rest.

Oyun-Erdene said the Mongolian government was not looking to raise its stake in Oyu Tolgoi and was satisfied with the partnership.

Oyu Tolgoi is slated to eventually produce more than 500,000 tonnes of copper a year and help Mongolia become one of the largest producers of the metal in the world.

With mining accounting for a quarter of the country's GDP and around 93% of its exports, Mongolia is implementing reforms to safeguard its economy from volatility in commodities markets, the prime minister said.

The government will start a sovereign wealth fund to cushion itself against raw material price volatility, diversify its economy and invest more in building infrastructure and logistics.

"These measures will greatly contribute to balance our economy and address the issue of volatility," Oyun-Erdene said.

Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Mongolian Parliament to uphold the presidential veto of a dangerous social media bill, during the plenary vote scheduled for 17 March, and to take their time to prepare a well-thought-out version based on the recommendations from the Forum on Information & Democracy.

On Friday, 17 March 2023, the Mongolian parliament (The State Great Khural) is scheduled to vote on a veto, applied by President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa in January, a decision welcomed by RSF. The bill, which could be still adopted if veto is overridden by receiving two-thirds of the lawmakers votes, would give political authorities the ability to make arbitrary and politically motivated decisions, giving the authorities the power to censor any online content they dislike.

"Granting the government a right to censor the Internet without due process threatens the public’s right to information and may one day lead to silencing journalists. We call on legislators to ensure that this bill is once and for all rejected, and to take their time to prepare a well-thought-out version of it based on the recommendations made by the Forum on Information & Democracy.

Cédric Alviani

RSF East Asia Bureau Director

The Forum on Information and Democracy recommendations

In November 2020, the Forum on Information and Democracy published the report “​​How to end infodemics”, based on more than 100 contributions from international experts, offering 250 recommendations to respond to the information chaos on online platforms and social media. It proposes, among others, strengthening the governance of the national regulator, reinforcing the regulator’s independence from the executive branch and accountability to the legislative branch of government and clarifying the appointment process of the national regulator with a clear vetting process.

The Forum published also three other reports and sets of recommendations for public regulation: in 2023, report “Pluralism of news and information in curation and indexing algorithms” containing suggestions for States and digital platforms on the pluralism of curation and indexing algorithms; in 2022 report on “Accountability regimes for social networks and users” proposing ways to harmonise moderation policies on platforms, enabling them to protect both freedom of expression and access to information; in 2021 the report “A New Deal for Journalism”, calling on governments and influential actors to improve the policy, funding, and enabling environment for independent professional journalism, by guaranteeing up to 0.1% of GDP a year in support of journalism.

Launched in 2019 and endorsed by 50 countries, the International Partnership on Information and Democracy aims at implementing democratic safeguards in the information and communication space. Based on principles drafted by a Commission composed of Nobel laureates, journalists and experts on new technologies, it provides appropriate responses to the information chaos threatening democracy, peace and the achievement of the sustainable development objectives (SDGs).

Mongolia ranked 90th out of 180 in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

SINGAPORE, March 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MineSec has boosted Mongol iD's capabilities as a leading fintech firm among Mongolia's market players by helping launch a software point of sale (SoftPOS) for the latter. Through the SoftPOS solution, MineSec has enabled Mongol iD to conduct businesses directly through mobile card payments without the need of additional software.

SoftPOS converts smart devices into a secure payment terminal as opposed to traditional POS systems. This revolutionary payment technology enables scalability while minimising terminal and maintenance costs. Mongol iD is seeing opportunities to expand their business using SoftPOS technology. This is in line with a new regulatory push from the Bank of Mongolia which mandates all issued cards to possess contactless capabilities.

Mongol iD will utilise the SoftPOS solution from MineSec for the newly released MinuChat. The unified solution offers merchants various services such as account statement; transfers and payments; as well as credit and loan applications; and invoicing and subscription payments. MinuChat also includes other advanced technology features that can ease business models such as chatbot services for merchants and map-based solutions that can help navigation including delivery and merchant information.

"With the support of MineSec, we are pleased to be the pioneering fintech company in Mongolia to launch a unified merchant solution with embedded SoftPOS functionality to drive local businesses' digital transformation and enable flexible fintech solution adoption," Khaliunbat.M, Chairman, of Mongol iD, said.

"We believe that SoftPOS can bring financial inclusivity and reduce the limitations of conservative financial services. MineSec is a strategic partner and their SoftPOS technology will play a key role in helping us bring all kinds of services into the palm of our customers," he added.

MineSec's white-label SoftPOS solution meets international standards set by payment schemes like Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, UnionPay and JCB, enabling customers to scale confidently and competitively amid the international market's unique evolving needs.

"Amid the rising demand for convenient and secure payment acceptance methods, many payment service providers are pressured to provide new value-added services to their merchant networks. We enable businesses like Mongol iD to leapfrog their own SoftPOS solution development with our SoftPOS Software Development Kit (SDK). This, in return, shortens the development process and allows effective solution deployment to Mongol iD's merchant clients," said Angus Chiu, CEO, of MineSec.

Moving forward, Mongol iD is looking to tap on MineSec's technology to launch SoftPOS on iOS devices in the future.

About MineSec

MineSec is a Singapore-based fintech firm that strives to drive innovation in secure and seamless contactless payment solutions globally. Its white-label SoftPOS solution provides ease of integration and customisation for various business needs.

Electronics giant Samsung says it plans to invest around 300tn won ($230.8bn; £189.6bn) over 20 years in the South Korean government's push to develop a mega semiconductor hub in the country.

This will be put towards building five chip factories, the firm told the BBC.

Samsung is the world's biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and TVs.

Under the official plan, companies in high-tech industries will be offered incentives like expanded tax breaks and infrastructure support.

"The mega cluster will be the key base of our semiconductor ecosystem," South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said it planned to secure around 550tn won in private-sector investment and "leap forward as a leading country in the middle of fierce global competition over advanced industries".

South Korea's move comes as "major players are ramping up efforts to boost onshore manufacturing in the semiconductor sector," Paul Triolo from the global advisory firm Albright Stonebridge Group told the BBC.

"It wants to emulate to some degree Taiwan's clustering effect, where the trifecta of science parks... form a massive cluster that has attracted numerous other companies, both upstream and downstream in the supply chain," he said.

Semiconductors, which power everything from mobile phones to military hardware, are at the centre of a bitter dispute between the US and China.

In October, Washington announced that it would require licences for companies exporting chips to China using US tools or software, no matter where they are made in the world.

Last week, the Netherlands said it also planned to put restrictions on its "most advanced" microchip technology exports to protect national security.

Around the same time, South Korea's trade ministry raised concerns over the US policy on semiconductors.

The ministry said the Chips Act "could deepen business uncertainties, violate companies' management and technology rights as well as make the United States less attractive as an investment option".

China has frequently called the US a "tech hegemony" in response to export controls imposed by Washington.

South Korea is home to other major microprocessor manufacturers such as SK Hynix.

Local Education Group (LEG) High Level Consultation Meeting was held on March 14 in Ulaanbaatar.

At the meeting, the Government’s policy and short-term goals on the education and science sector were presented to the attendees and discussions were evolved around the topics such as cooperation opportunities and roles of the stakeholders. The meeting is significant in terms of establishing cooperation and partnership mechanism between the member countries. This mechanism will allow the realization of international projects and programs in line with the policy of education and science. Moreover, by establishing this mechanism, member organizations of the group will be able to hold meetings quarterly to identify the challenges and discuss solutions and possible technical assistance to solve these challenges.

Over 100 representatives from donors, international development organizations, and civil society organizations attended the consultation meeting.

During the meeting, Minister of Education and Science Mr. Enkh-Amgalan provided clarifications on the following issues.

Concerning the expected results from the consultative meeting, he said,

- “For many years, the governments of Japan and Germany, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank have been providing discounted loans for our education sector, and the amounts of projects, implemented in the education and vocational training sector have reached USD 760 million and USD 300 million, respectively. In total, we have received financing of over USD 1 billion. As a result, now education loans and grants are accounting for 10-15 percent of our total debt. However, the results and effectiveness of these loans and grants are still in question. The attendees of this consultative meeting are offering their suggestions on ways to improve the effectiveness of loans and grants, such as avoiding the overlap of loans and encouraging result-based financing methods. For instance, many projects are implemented for supporting disabled people, but they often fail to achieve results due to a lack of coordination. We also discussed other issues with donor and financing organizations, including the possibility to reduce the interest rate and prolong the term of loans. Another main issue was to cooperate with the financing organizations in eliminating the quality gap in educational services in urban and rural areas. To that extent, we have presented our cooperation proposals to the donors and financing organizations. Currently, we are cooperating with Germany on vocational training, with Japan on numerous projects, including school expansion projects, a 1000 Engineers Project, and a Japan-Mongolia Hospital Project, and with KOICA on the school lunch program. There are many more projects are expected to be implemented in the education sector.”

- Will it be possible for our country to get our education loans written off?

For the past 30 years, Mongolia has received over USD 1 billion as loans and grants in the education sector from donors and financing organizations. Most of them have been paid, and now the remaining amount on such loans is about USD 170 million. During this meeting, we also discussed the possibilities of each scenario in writing off the loans, reducing their interests, or extending their terms.

Moreover, the World Bank has launched an initiative to tackle education financing challenges for developing countries. In this regard, the Government of Germany swapped the debt for education programs in Indonesia.

- Professionals who studied abroad with international loans are criticized for not returning to their home country. What is the position of the Ministry of Education and Culture on this matter?

- Mostly, bachelor’s degree students are criticized for such reasons. So, we have started to establish an agreement with the students to bind parties to perform their obligations. Moreover, our universities are offering a 2+2 program for their students, allowing them to complete their last two years in a foreign university. The “President’s Scholar–2100" scholarship program initiated by President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh has been successfully implemented since 2021, awarding the best students from each of the 330 soums and capital city's 171 khoroos to study at the world’s best universities. There are other types of scholarships and loans for bachelor’s degree students. Yet, we need to expand the scope of scholarships and loans to include master’s and doctor’s degree students.

BEIJING (AP) — Mongolia plans to channel revenue from rising copper exports into an economic development fund as part of changes to reap more benefit from its mineral riches and root out corruption, the North Asian nation’s prime minister said in an interview Tuesday following the opening of a major expansion of its biggest mine.

Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene attended a ceremony 1,300 meters (4,300 feet) below ground to mark the start of underground production Monday at the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia. He was joined by executives of Rio Tinto, the Australian mining giant that owns a 66% stake in the mine. The government owns the rest.

The multibillion-dollar expansion of Oyu Tolgoi is the latest effort to generate prosperity from Mongolia's copper, coal, gold and other minerals following three decades of complaints about economic malaise and corruption.

Oyun-Erdene, who took office in 2021, represents a younger generation following leaders who grew up under the Soviet-allied former communist government. At 42, the politician with the burly build of an American college football player has a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and experience working abroad.

“We are working hard to eliminate the old culture and introduce a new mindset,” the prime minister said by video link from Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital.

Mongolia gets more than 90% of its export revenue from minerals and is benefiting from the surge in global sales of electric cars that use more than a mile (1,500 meters) of copper wire in their motors.

Oyun-Erdene said his government plans to invest copper revenue in public health, education and developing technology, tourism and other new industries. He said his government will propose a law to create a sovereign wealth fund during the parliament session that begins Wednesday.

“We do believe this will be a historic moment for the livelihoods and standard of living of the people of Mongolia,” Oyun-Erdene said. He said his government wants to make “the wealth and natural resources of Mongolia beneficial and equally distributed to all the people of Mongolia.”

Mongolia’s economic growth is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to accelerate this year to 5% from last year’s 2.5%. But households have struggled with inflation that spiked to 14% last year. Economic output per person is about $4,500, barely one-third of neighboring China’s level.

Government plans call for more than doubling average economic output for Mongolia’s 3.2 million people to $10,000 by 2030.

The planned fund includes a pool of money for housing, education and health, a separate fund for development projects and a “stabilization fund” to cushion against changes in commodity prices, according to Oyun. That is similar to sovereign wealth funds operated by Chile, another big copper exporter, and oil producers to invest natural resource revenues.

Other planned investments to “enhance our economic independence” include two hydroelectric power plants to reduce Mongolia’s need for electricity from its giant neighbors, China and Russia, according to Oyun-Erdene.

To extract more value from its copper, Mongolia announced an agreement this week with Rio Tinto to look at building a smelter.

Oyu Tolgoi, about 550 kilometers (350 miles) south of Ulan Bator, started digging copper from an open pit in 2012 before developing the underground mine that its operators say is more valuable. The mine, with a workforce of 20,000, says it has paid $4 billion in taxes and other fees to the government.

Production is forecast to rise to 500,000 tons per year, or enough to equip 6 million electric vehicles. Its operators say that would make Oyu Tolgoi the world’s fourth-largest copper mine.

“People of Mongolia will benefit greatly from this project,” Oyun-Erdene, wearing a green helmet with a mining lamp, said Monday at a ceremony with Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm.

The mine faces complaints it uses too much scarce water in its desert setting and has displaced traditional nomadic herders. Activists say Rio Tinto and the government failed to carry out a 2017 agreement to compensate them.

The mine’s operator responds that it recycles most of its water and has paid the provincial government some $40.5 million for what it draws from local sources. The company says it has repaired herder wells and installed solar panels to power pumps at 40 of them.

“We are having talks with Oyu Tolgoi on how to improve the environment and especially how we can address the issue of environmental degradation,” Oyun-Erdene said.

He acknowledged complaints about corruption in the government-dominated mining industry, saying his administration has declared this an “anti-corruption year” and is carrying out a five-part plan based on advice from Transparency International, a global anti-graft watchdog.

Mongolia ranked 116th among countries last year in Transparency International’s “corruption perceptions index,” based on a survey of businesspeople and experts. That was down from No. 94 in 2012.

In December, thousands of people protested in freezing weather in Ulan Bator after Oyun-Erdene's government announced an investigation into officials accused of profiting from the improper diversion of coal exports in 2013-19.

The government aims to make mining more transparent and to reduce political influence by turning state-owned enterprises into companies with publicly traded shares. Oyun-Erdene said.

“Some parliament members are involved in mining and own companies. This is a real challenge,” Oyun-Erdene said. “We have to make the private interests of parliament members and public officials separate from the public interests of Mongolia.”

By JOE McDONALD, AP Business Writer