Mongolia reported 49 new coronavirus infections, the coronavirus statistics as of June 29 showed.

29 of them were revealed among persons who had contact with the infected in Ulaanbaatar, 20 other cases were detected in regions.

No new imported cases of COVID-19 were reported.

The death toll makes 2,118 as of June 29.

Mongolia will boost efforts to protect forests from harmful insects, the country's environment minister said Wednesday.

The government will spend 2 billion Mongolian Tugriks (about 638,500 U.S. dollars) to control pest outbreaks or eradicate insect pests, Mongolian Minister of Environment and Tourism Bat-Ulzii Bat-Erdene told a press conference.

It is estimated that insect pests have infected more than 732,700 hectares of forest in Mongolia, said the minister.

The fight against forest pests is part of the country's tree-planting campaign, which was launched last year and aims to plant at least a billion trees by 2030 to combat desertification.

According to the ministry, only 7.9 percent of Mongolia's total land area is covered by forests.

Mongolian rock band The Hu have unveiled details of a full UK and European tour this year – check out the dates below.

The band will perform at Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Cardiff, Birmingham, Belfast and Glasgow, as well as a huge show at London’s Roundhouse on December 9.

Tickets for the shows are available here from Friday July 1 at 9am and you can see all the UK dates here:

NOVEMBER

28 – Manchester, Academy

30 – Leeds, Stylus

DECEMBER

1 – Nottingham, Rock City

2 – Cardiff, Great Hall

3 – Birmingham, O2 Institute

5 – Dublin, 3Olympia

6 – Belfast, Ulster Hall

07 – Glasgow, SWG3 (Galvanizers)

09 – London, Roundhouse

Municipality organizations will cooperate with 70 national IT companies to create a smart city where citizens can work and live, using information technology solutions in every sector. The "Ulaanbaatar Digital transition" to be implemented in 2022-2024 is the first major public-private partnership project, and its technological solutions and plans were presented.

During the presentation, Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar D.Sumiyabazar said, “Transitioning into digital governance is the ideal way to keep public and private sector open and transparent. Therefore, to keep pace with the world's development, the largest social and economic center of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar city, must make a digital transition. The transition will be carried out in cooperation with 70 major IT companies operating in Mongolia. It will provide an opportunity to address many of the issues facing Ulaanbaatar, increase government productivity, and operate in a corruption-free, transparent, and open manner”.

Director of the Capital City Department of Digital Development and Information Technology O.Chinzorig introduced the “One Brain Integrated System” project. He said, “In 2016, the digital transition project for public services in Ulaanbaatar was launched. Thus, in 2018, the E-SERVICE system was introduced to increase the quality and accessibility of public services provided by the capital city and to ensure transparency. In the framework of this work, 133 types of services of 20 municipality organizations have been digitalized, which is a major project that laid the foundation for the current unified government E-Mongolia system. In addition, through the UB ERP system, more than 30,000 civil servants have been able to operate quickly and easily and save costs.

As of today, more than 10 million services have been provided through the E-Mongolia mobile application. It is estimated that Mongolia's goal of becoming a digital nation has been consolidated, saving about MNT 167 billion. We have implemented 26 projects since 2016”.

In this context, the project to be implemented in 2022-2024 will consist of three sections, including Digital Governance, Integrated Smart Traffic System, and Safe City projects. Moreover, 12 sub-projects and 27 measures will be implemented and carried out until 2024.

DIGITAL GOVERNANCE PROJECT

In order to simplify and ensure transparency in running a business in the capital city, the Online Business Center’s Service Registration System was launched on January 1, this year. As a result, 74 types of business permissions provided by districts to businesses and individuals have been digitalized. To date, 126,504 citizens and business entities have applied to this system, and requests of 1311 citizens and business entities have been resolved. In the second phase of the project, the construction services in the capital city will be digitalized within this year, and relevant studies are being conducted to introduce them to the system.

INTEGRATED SMART TRAFFIC SYSTEM PROJECT

Seven measures are planned to be implemented by 2024 to create a comprehensive system that meets the needs and requirements of the road and transport stakeholders. Preparations are underway to install RFID devices at 138 intersections in the capital city to enable basic data collection and analysis by 2022. Also, traffic cameras will be completely renewed at the first lane of Peace Avenue and other major intersections. This will lead to reductions in crime, and violations, whilst improving traffic etiquette and reducing time lost in incident handling that causes congestion.

In addition, Radio-frequency identification (RFID) will be installed in traffic light control systems and payment systems which will lead to increasing the payment options for entry and exit through UB checkpoints, and will facilitate payment methods such as introducing prepaying and post-paying features. Furthermore, we plan to improve the information exchange capacity of the road and transportation-related organizations, renovate the “Management Center” with information systems and equipment, and exchange experiences with major cities including Singapore”.

SAFE CITY PROJECT

Based on a smart telecamera system, crimes will be prevented, coordination of functional organizations will be improved, the exchange of information will be enhanced, and a safe Ulaanbaatar city will be created. Within the framework of the project, 13,944 telecameras are planned to be installed at 5426 points of the capital city under Order A/295, 2019.

CAPITAL CITY TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY

Shares in Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE America, TSX: IE), the latest endeavour of mining magnate Robert Friedland, were falling on their trading debut on Tuesday morning after the company raised as much as $169 million in an initial public offering on Monday.

The exploration and development company, which owns properties in Arizona, Utah and Montana, along with a battery storage business, sold on Monday almost 14.4 million shares for $11.75 each, slightly short of the $12.5 each it aimed for.

The transaction, however, was still the biggest US IPO since May 12, when oilfield services company ProFrac Holding Corp. raised $328 million, including so-called greenshoe shares.

Only $4.9 billion has been raised on US exchanges this year, compared with almost $102 billion during the first six months of 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Analysts had predicted a better market debut as Ivanhoe Electric is focused on critical minerals that are key to the global energy transition.

“We believe the United States is significantly underexplored and will yield major new discoveries of these metals,” Ivanhoe Electric said in a regulatory filing. “Our mineral projects focus on copper, gold, silver, nickel, cobalt, vanadium and the platinum group metals.”

Shares in the company, which spent $39 million on exploration last year and posted a $59 million loss, were trading last in New York (NYSEAMERICAN: IE) at $10.42 or 11.32% lower than their sale price.

Ivanhoe Electric owns the Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona, which it says is the second largest copper deposit in the US.

It also holds rights to the Tintic gold-copper mine in Utah and the Hog Heaven silver-gold-copper project in Montana.

Ivanhoe Electric plans to use part of the proceeds from the IPO to fund the construction and deployment of its Typhoon electrical pulse-powered geophysical surveying transmitter technology.

Friedland made his fortune from the Voisey’s Bay nickel project in Canada in the 1990s. Since then, he has been involved in some of the biggest mineral discoveries in the world, including the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia and the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Forbes estimates Friedland’s holdings are worth more than $2 billion.

(With files from Bloomberg)

Hemmed in between China, the world’s most populous country, and Russia, its largest, is landlocked Mongolia—a former socialist “people’s republic” that’s visited by only 20,000 Americans per year.

And except for its most famous native son, Genghis Khan, who in 1206 founded the Mongol Empire—the largest contiguous land empire in history—Mongolia is still relatively unknown to the outside world.

Batbayar Ulziidelger really wants to change that.

The jovial, 49-year-old diplomat, Mongolia’s ambassador to the United States since November 2021, was formerly an advisor to the prime minister on foreign policy. Before that, he spent 20 years in the private sector as director, founder and CEO of various tourism, technology and consulting companies.

Among other things, Ulziidelger helped develop the “Travel Responsibly” national campaign. He also assisted in formulating “Vision 2050,” Mongolia’s long-term development policy.

Born in the eastern city of Choibalsan and raised in Ulaanbaatar, the capital, Ulziidelger earned his bachelor’s degree in English in 1994, another bachelor’s in computer engineering from the Mongolian University of Science and Technology in 1998, and an MBA from that same university in 2000.

“Mongolia is a democratic country, one of the only democracies in Central Asia. Historically, the Mongol Empire was one of the biggest in the world,” he said, adding that among his people’s ancient innovations were three types of passports—including a golden one conferring diplomatic immunity.

In 1987, Mongolia established diplomatic ties with the United States. In July 2021, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman paid a three-day visit to Ulaanbaatar, marking the most senior visit of its kind since then-Secretary of State John Kerry spent six hours there in 2016.

Huge territory, few people

Covering 1.56 million square km, Mongolia ranks 18th in size worldwide, slightly smaller than Iran and a bit larger than Peru. Yet it has only 3.3 million inhabitants—about the same as Connecticut-sized Puerto Rico. That gives the predominantly Buddhist country a density of only 2 people per square km, making it the most sparsely inhabited sovereign jurisdiction on Earth.

Even today, between 500,000 and 600,000 Mongolians are nomads, living off the grassy steppes and moving from place to place exactly as their ancestors did thousands of years ago.

Mongolian Ambassador Batbayar Ulziidelger holds up a painting “The Earth,” which depicts the poem, Blue Eye of the Cosmos, by B. Yavuukhulan. It is written in traditional vertical Mongolian script. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

“Mongolian hospitality is one of the most precious things in the world. We invite guests as our own family,” Ulziidelger told the Washington Diplomat in a recent interview at his embassy in Georgetown. On the wall behind his desk is the national emblem of Mongolia. It depicts a blue circle symbolizing the sky, in the middle of which is a gold wind horse, with sun, moon and fire symbols derived from Buddhist and Mongolian folklore.

“We have a huge territory, so if you’re lost in the middle of nowhere and you come to a family, this family must invite you,” he explained. “That’s why we don’t lock our doors.”

This passionate traveler has already visited 101 countries—but none of them, he says, compares to his own.

“Once you land in Mongolia, you feel the freedom. The breeze almost kisses you,” he said. “Whenever I return home, I say, ‘God blessed me to be born Mongolian.’”

In 1997, the future ambassador walked from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad in southern Mongolia, a solo journey of 700 km backpacking through the Gobi Desert. The trip took three weeks.

A peaceful democratic revolution

Nearly 20 years later, Ulziidelger—a karate enthusiast and father of two who speaks fluent English, Japanese and Russian—received Mongolia’s Order of the Polar Star. And in 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs named him Mongolia’s cultural envoy.

“Mongolia is a paradise of adventure and outdoor tourism. That’s why people who trek, hunt and go horseback riding love it,” he said. “You can go to a five-star hotel and relax with your family on the beach, but this is not tourism,” said Ulziideldger, who’s even started a Facebook group for Mongolians who enjoy traveling; it has 766,000 followers.

These days, however, the ambassador is thinking not so much about adventure travel, but more on the impact Russia’s devastating war with Ukraine may ultimately have on his own country.

A socialist republic until 1990, Mongolia shares a 3,450-km border with Russia to the north, and a 4,630-km border with China to the south. Both of its neighbors are nuclear powers with aggressive ambitions whose relations with the United States have worsened dramatically in recent years.

Mongolia adopted the Cyrillic alphabet in the 1950s, due to Soviet influence. In addition, thousands of Mongolian youths have studied not only in Moscow but also at Ukrainian universities in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv.

“In 1989, a lot of people came out to protest perestroika,” the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system promoted by the last Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ulziidelger said. “I was also demonstrating, going out into the streets with my friends. My parents were worried. At that time, I had a dream that people would decide their futures for themselves, that they could work and earn money.”

“Windows,” an intricate work by Mongolian painter Tsolmon, hangs in the Mongolian Embassy in Washington. (Photo by Larry Luxner)

But unlike many former Soviet republics, “Mongolia had no shooting, killing or violence. We shifted very humbly and gently.”

Keeping a delicate balance between China and Russia

After the Soviet Union’s collapse, Mongolia witnessed a peaceful democratic revolution in January 1990 that led to the introduction of a multiparty system and market economy. The former Marxist-Leninist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party gave way to the current Mongolian People’s Party, a new constitution in 1992, and no more “People’s Republic of Mongolia,” but just simply Mongolia.

“After 1990, everything changed,” Ulziidelger said. “A lot of people started to study abroad, mainly in the United States, Japan, South Korea, UK, Germany, France and Sweden.”

These days, he said, close to 180,000 Mongolians live abroad, most of them in South Korea. About 40,000 have emigrated to the United States, where the biggest communities are in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver and suburban Washington, DC. There’s even talk of direct flights between Ulaanbaatar and US cities such as Los Angeles or Seattle.

Fred Walker, Hologic’s vice-president of worldwide marketing, talks with Mongolian Ambassador Batbayar Ulziidelger at a recent event sponsored by the Washington Diplomat. (Photo by Ursula McNamara)

US-Mongolian trade currently stands at $260 million a year, with more than 30% of Mongolia’s revenues derived from mining—copper, gold, silver and iron ore. Among the country’s more far-reaching goals: boost trade with China to $10 billion a year, while planting one billion trees across Mongolia by 2030, in a dramatic effort to reduce desertification and slow climate change.

To this day, Mongolia is heavily dependent on imports from Russia, particularly oil. Not wishing to upset its huge northern neighbor, it was therefore no surprise that Mongolia abstained—along with 34 other countries—when the UN General Assembly voted 141-5 to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on March 2.

Yet that doesn’t mean Mongolia rejects Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, Ulziidelger said.

“To be honest, we’re deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine, and saddened at the loss of many precious lives,” he said. “That’s why it’s extremely important that all parties urgently facilitate a ceasefire and de-escalate tensions through negotiations and diplomacy. Otherwise, this escalation of tension will have other unforeseen consequences, seriously affecting peace and stability—not only in Europe but the world.”

Vast Mongolia, squeezed between China and Russia, treads carefully | Washington Diplomat (washdiplomat.com)

The Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institute for Strategic Studies organized the seventh Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security international conference from June 23 to 24. Mongolia’s hosting of such a timely event manifests the country’s successful foreign policy mechanisms.

Since its establishment in 2014, the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue has served as a non-traditional mediation platform where representatives from Northeast Asian countries can discuss security issues impacting the region. Despite the two-year COVID-related hiatus, Mongolia was able to gather more international participants for the resumed dialogue than in previous years.

Since the late 1960s, Mongolia’s foreign policy began to pursue a more active role in global affairs. Mongolia’s relentless efforts to gain membership in the United Nations were a prelude to many of its later foreign policy mechanisms.

The Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security platform was initially inspired by the Helsinki Accords of 1975 – the culmination of two years of negotiations under the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (eventually institutionalized into the today’s Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE). The objective of the conference, hosted by Finland, was to reduce tensions between the Soviet Union and the Western bloc. Borrowing from the idea that a country can be a mediation platform became part of Mongolia’s foreign policy strategy to engage its Northeast Asian partners and establish a trust through the practice of diplomacy and mutual respect.

In 2011, the parliament of Mongolia renewed and modernized the country’s Foreign Policy Concept, which enabled Ulaanbaatar to expand its participation in Northeast Asia and East Asian affairs at large. In 2013, the then-president of Mongolia, Elbegdorj Tsakhia, became the first head of state to visit Pyongyang after Kim Jong Un assumed power. Elbegdorj announced the establishment of the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue at the seventh Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Ulaanbaatar.

During the first Ulaanbaatar Dialogue in 2014, Grayvoronskiy V. Viktorovich from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences noted Mongolia’s initiation to be more active in regional diplomacy. He also noted, “There are many other regional and permanent international institutions, conferences, meetings, and dialogues… the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue needs to find its niche among the other international institutions and meetings.”

Given Mongolia’s unique geopolitical position and its normal diplomatic relations with all the countries in Northeast Asia, Mongolia itself provides the “niche.” For example, when it comes to the perennial issue of the denuclearization of North Korea, Mongolia’s status as a non-nuclear weapons state gives it a unique discursive role. Other countries in the region either are nuclear powers (China and Russia) or have little to no diplomatic contact with North Korea (South Korea and Japan).

Moreover, Mongolia has previously made some efforts to mediate between Japan and North Korea on Pyongyang’s previous abductions of Japanese nationals. Former Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro sought to utilize Mongolia’s diplomatic relations with North Korea as a channel to negotiate with Pyongyang. To the countries in the region and the international community, Mongolia’s diplomatic relationship with North Korea presents an opportunity for promoting peace and dialogue.

At the same time, North Korea is not the only security issue in Northeast Asia. Some of the regional relationships, such as Japan-China, Japan-South Korea, and China-South Korea, have deep-rooted historical grievances and hostilities, which limits what Ulaanbaatar can do.

According to the Foreign Ministry of Mongolia, the seventh Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security convened representatives from 20 countries and 30 international organizations, and 150 people participated (some attended virtually due to COVID-19). This year’s conference included five panels: “Regional Security Challenges and Opportunities,” “Multilateral Cooperation in Northeast Asia,” “Post-Covid Regional Economic Cooperation,” “The Future of Peaceful Northeast Asia,” and “Energy in Transition.”

The foreign minister of Mongolia, Battsetseg Batmunkh stated, “In comparison to the previous six years, this year’s conference gathered more diverse participants. In other words, Mongolia is becoming more influential in promoting security dialogue and communication in our region. Moreover, it is important that not only Northeast Asia countries, but European and Western countries have begun to actively participate in the dialogue.”

This year, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom all joined the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue.

Since its establishment in 2014, the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security has created a platform where country representatives, academics, and field experts find a working mechanism for solving traditional and non-traditional issues. These dialogues and mechanisms will then be considered to help navigate policymakers to make better decisions.

From a security standpoint, in Northeast Asia – a region without a collective defense system – the individual policies of China, Russia, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea, are often divided into blocs, especially amid growing China-U.S. tensions. Nevertheless, Mongolia, despite its small-state status, remains a trustworthy partner with all the Northeast Asian countries. The idea of Mongolia as an active, independent player in the realm of international relations requires perpetual nourishment, whether at the bilateral or multilateral level. The Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security is one of these foreign policy mechanisms Mongolia must continue.

GUEST AUTHOR

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 American Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia (AmCham Mongolia) successfully hosted Doorknock 2022 on June 21-23, 2022, with foreign and domestic investors, organized in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar. The delegation met with representatives of the Government of Mongolia and top government agencies to exchange opinions and notes.

AmCham’s Doorknock is an annual event for Mongolian delegations to meet with policymakers to discuss investment, exchange opinions, and engage in dialogue. This year, the Doorknock was held in Mongolia instead of the United States for the first time. Over the course of three days, the delegation visited several key government bodies and officials, including the Office of the President, the Prime Minister's Cabinet, the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, Members of Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Road and Transportation Development, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry, as well as representatives of the Judicial General Council.

The meetings addressed vital issues facing the private sector, such as restoring and increasing investor confidence, improving the business environment, boosting the economy, eradicating bureaucracy, and legislative changes that need urgent attention to facilitate reforms. Every appointment was positively received and attended by representatives of AmCham member companies, including Badrakh Energy, Cummins, Melville & Erdenedalai LLP, MSM, Monpolymet, Rio Tinto, and the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia.

A summarized list of reformative actions, titled ‘3 Pillars for Positive Change’, was introduced and delivered, outlining the following key issues:

I. Re-aligning toward a free-market economy driven by private-sector entrepreneurs and enterprises

II. Reforming the business and investment environment

III. Prioritizing greater commerce and trade integration with the U.S. and third neighbors

The government agencies that met with the Doorknock delegation welcomed the document and its attention to priority issues.

AmCham is committed to continuing its dialogue with all stakeholders to improve the investment climate in Mongolia.

Source: amcham.mn

Mongolia's National Traumatology and Orthopedics Research Center on Tuesday warned the public to beware of venomous snakes.

The warning came after many cases of snake bites had been reported in the capital Ulan Bator and other areas of the country.

Currently, four children bitten by venomous snakes are hospitalized, according to the center.

In addition, reports of shield-nose snake sightings in residential areas across the country are on the rise, especially in the capital city, the center said.

Last year, at least two deaths were registered in the country because of snake bites.

Hanoi (VNA) – Agriculture holds a great potential to help developing cooperation between Vietnam and Mongolia, Mongolian Ambassador to Vietnam Jigjee Sereejav has said.

The diplomat made the comment at a recent meeting with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam in Hanoi to discuss the promotion of the bilateral trade of farm produce.

Agreeing with his guest, Nam expressed his belief in the nations achieving their 100-million-USD trade goal soon, particularly via strengthening farming collaboration in the time to come.

Transport between the sides presents a difficulty which should be tackled to facilitate regular interactions between their enterprises, Nam said.

The official noted that he wants to know more about strong agricultural hubs of Mongolia.

The ambassador said the countries can team up to implement a project on rice cultivation, suggesting that Vietnam’s northern varieties are likely to suit Mongolia’s weather and soil conditions.

He also proposed a joint project on goat farming in Vietnam and a potential cooperation for the sides in leather processing for garment-textile.

The Vietnam-Mongolia trade hit 80.2 million USD in 2021 and 25.9 million USD in the first four months of this year.