Mongolia reported 46 new COVID-19 infections, according to the country's health statistics database as of May 23.

32 of them were found in Ulaanbaatar, and 14 cases were detected in regions of the country.

No new linked death were reported during the past day, the death toll remains at 2,114.

On the last day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on May 22, Yokozuna (Grand Champion) Terunofuji G.Gan-Erdene raised his 7th Emperor’s Cup.

Despite injuring his right ankle and knee in the previous tournament, he was able to win his match against Ozeki Mitakeumi by yorikiri (frontal force out).

With this victory, he became the champion of the tournament with 12 wins and 3 losses.

From the Mongolian sumo wrestlers that competed at the highest division during the tournament, Kiribayama B.Lkhagvasuren (10 wins and 5 losses), Tamawashi B.Munkh-Orgil (9 wins and 6 losses), and Hoshoryu S.Byambasuren (8 wins and 7 losses) were able to finish with a positive record.

With aims to establish an oil refinery based on available supply of commodities, meet domestic demands for gasoline, and launching domestic production, a comprehensive construction project is being implemented in Altanshiree soum, Dornogobi aimag - the project of Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC.

Planned to be put into operation in 2025, the construction works were recently launched. Its detailed feasibility study was approved by the Mineral Resources Professional Council at the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry on November 15, 2018.

A bill on supporting the oil refinery was developed by a working group consisting of officials and representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry, Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia, and Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC, which was discussed at a Cabinet meeting on December 30, 2020. Following this, the Standing Committee on Industrial Policy formed a working group, and corresponding bills were approved at the parliament’s plenary session on January 29, 2021. The Government also approved the regulations on state support for the oil refinery on August 11, 2021. It was through all these stages that the legal environment was created for an oil refinery to be established in Mongolia.

Non-technological facilities and structures

The first stage of the refinery’s construction consists of non-technological facilities. The first engineering-procurement – construction (EPC-1) contract was signed with the company, ‘JMC Projects India’, in October 2020, and its works launched in January 2021.

In preparation for the construction to be carried out for non-technological structures, facilities, pipelines, and the site, domestic resources were utilized in connecting the area to railroad, autoroad, and power lines.

Within its frames, the Ministry of Defense, Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC, and the National Power Transmission Grid have handed over a 17.5 km-long autoroad, 27 km railroad, 3.7 km junction, concrete bridge, tunnel, and 18.6 km-long 110kW overhead power lines as well as a 110/10kW substation to the State Commission.

On top of this, the first apartment complex for housing 550 households is currently being built in Sainshand for the refinery’s workers. Once the apartments are commissioned, it is planned to be expanded into a microdistrict of comfortable apartments with modern solutions. During the entire duration of the oil refinery’s construction, around 8 thousand workers will be working at the site.

Crude oil pipeline

On March 1, 2021, Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC had a request for expression of interest for the tender to select the contractor for engineering, procurement and construction plus financing (EPC plus F) of the project to construct a crude oil pipeline published on the website, Pipeline & Gas Journal, announcing the tender internationally. About 20 foreign and domestic companies expressed their interest in participating in the tender, and the process to select the contractor was completed on October 20, 2021.

As the Chinese state-owned NORINCO International Cooperation was selected through the tender, a cooperation agreement was signed by State Secretary of the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry G.Nandinjargal, CEO of Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC D.Altantsetseg, CEO of Erdenes Tavantolgoi JSC B.Gankhuyag (as the project financing body), and General Manager at NORINCO International Cooperation Zhou Dian Bin in April 2022.

With financing of USD 388 million from Erdenes Tavantolgoi JSC, the crude oil pipeline will pass through nine soums of three aimags, stretching for 530 km.

Per the Cabinet’s resolution on issuing oil exploration area in the Tamsag basin to the Mongol Refinery company, an oil pipeline will be constructed from Matad soum, Dornod aimag to the oil refinery site in Altanshiree soum, Dornogobi aimag. It is planned to be constructed in three years, before the oil refinery is put into operation.

As the pipeline will be constructed deep underground, it will not only be the first of its kind in Mongolia for fulfilling the roles of storage, transport method, and infrastructure, but also save power costs.

A new industry for the country

Works for the construction of industrial facilities (EPC-2,3) and deep-processing facility (EPC-4) will be carried out in phases. The EPC-3 contract includes constructing the refinery’s own power plant based on locally produced fuel, while EPC-4 will include acquiring the corresponding rights and permissions from large-scale companies in the petrochemical industry.

However, it should be noted that the oil refinery would not be considered large according to international standards. Thus, there have been certain cases where companies refused to participate in a “small” project. Despite this, the team working at Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC has been resolving the issue. For instance, the company has begun to sign license agreements as the selection process has been completed. Last month, Mongol Refinery signed a license agreement with Axens Solutions for its sulfur recovery unit. A license and engineering agreement for four of the deep processing units at the oil refinery has also been signed with Honeywell UOP.

Socio-economic benefits of the oil refinery

Firstly, once it becomes possible for Mongolia to produce its own gasoline and oil products at the oil refinery in Altanshiree soum, the country will no longer be dependent on imports. In other words, the country will increase its economic independence in the region.

Furthermore, the foundations for the petrochemical industry will be laid out with the introduction of the technology. Alongside making contributions to the state and local budgets, the refinery will not only create some 600 job opportunities, but also significantly increase the number of jobs available in the industry indirectly.

As the outflow of foreign currency decreases, foreign exchange rates will stabilize. And as a result, Mongolia’s GDP is estimated to grow by over 10 percent. In this sense, the project for the construction of an oil refinery in Altanshiree soum could be considered as one of the main projects to boost the country’s development.

Processing capacity: 1.5 million tons of crude oil per year

Location: Altanshiree soum, Dornogobi aimag

Sources for crude oil: Toson Uul XIX, and Tamsag XXI sites

Product quality: MNS & EURO V

Annual operating hours: 8,000 hours

Deep processing technology: Hydrocracking, Visbreaking

Power source: TPP 35 MW/h

The oil refinery will produce:

• 339 thousand tons of gasoline,

• 824 thousand tons of diesel,

• 80 thousand tons of aviation fuel,

• 43 thousand tons of liquefied gas,

• 47 thousand tons of stove fuel.

Desertification is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Desertification is affecting all continents except Antarctica, to a greater or lesser extent, and combating desertification is a global priority. This was discussed at the 15th session of the Parties of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which was held from May 9 to 20 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

COP15 brought together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders from 189 countries. Mongolian delegation led by Minister of Environment and Tourism B.Bat-Erdene and Advisor to the President of Mongolia on Green Development N.Batkhuu participated in the session where each participating country presented its measures against desertification and shared their best practices.

In recent years, global warming has led to an increase in the number of droughts, as well as the threat of desertification due to human activities. In addition, global warming manifests itself in different ways depending on the region, zone, and location. In Mongolia, 76.9 percent of the country's land area is affected by desertification.

In his remarks delivered during the Ministerial Roundtable meeting, Minister B.Bat-Erdene said that Mongolia has lost about 50 percent of its permafrost over the past 40 years. This shows the need to pay more attention to soil management in reducing desertification and land degradation in the northern region. He then emphasized that the ‘One Billion Tree’ national movement initiated by the President of Mongolia will be a significant impetus to address the issues such as land policy, use, sustainable economic development, and human rights.

While underscoring that the national movement will not only reduce desertification in Mongolia but also have a positive impact on the environment in Northeast Asia, Minister B.Bat-Erdene put forth a proposal to host COP17 in Mongolia.

He also stressed that he believes that Mongolia's efforts will contribute to the sustainable green development of the world, as there are no borders in nature.

After being discussed by more than 6,000 delegates from 189 countries, Mongolia’s proposal to host COP17 was approved.

Governments need to subsidise the cost of food and energy for the poorest members of society, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the BBC.

People around the world are struggling with the rising cost of living.

Kristalina Georgieva said support needs to be provided "in a very targeted manner, preferably by providing subsidies directly to people".

Many governments are providing some help but critics argue it's not enough.

When it comes to the cost of living crisis, Ms Georgieva said: "There are two priorities, one the very poor people, segments of society that are now struggling with high food and energy prices".

The second, she added, is to support those businesses that have been "most damaged" by the war in Ukraine.

The IMF's role is to work with governments to stabilise the global economy and enhance prosperity.

However, that's proving challenging because food prices have hit record highs this year, whilst oil and gas prices have also risen sharply.

This is largely because of the twin shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Between them Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of crops and hydrocarbons.

Recession fears

The importance of these commodities to the global economy has led the annualised inflation rate to reach its highest point in decades in many countries: 9% in the UK, 8.3% in the US and 7.4% in the Eurozone.

Central banks are lifting interest rates to try and slow the increase in prices, which has led some influential figures such as Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein to warn of the risk of recession.

Ms Georgieva is concerned about the impact those higher borrowing costs will have on governments who have to repay huge debts they took on to get through the pandemic.

She said governments needed to be "very careful" about how much money they spent and what they spent it on.

Chart showing inflation of UK and other countries

IMAGE SOURCE,AFP

The problems of falling living standards was at the top of the agenda at this week's meeting of G7 finance ministers in Germany.

The meeting of seven wealthy countries ended with a pledge to "continue to work together to minimise the impact of the war globally as well as on our own economies and population by providing well-targeted support, where necessary".

Over the last few months governments have made a range of interventions to try and lower the cost of living.

In the US President Biden has released oil from reserves to try and bring prices down, Spain and Portugal have capped gas bills and it's a leading issue in Australia's election.

In the UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has made some tax changes and is considering a windfall tax on the soaring profits of energy companies.

G7 finance ministers meeting in Bonn

IMAGE SOURCE,EPA

Image caption,

Finance Ministers from the G7 group of advanced economies are facing similar challenges

Ms Georgieva is concerned that without the correct government support the protests seen in Sri Lanka could be repeated in other countries.

Sri Lanka's economic crisis, exacerbated by rising prices, has led to deadly riots, a new prime minister and a first ever default on its debts.

The IMF boss said such similar unrest before the pandemic, from France to Chile, was caused by "a sense of inequality growing" and decisions being made without the support of the people.

"If we are to learn any lessons from 2019 if is to be much more humble about policy decisions, and engage in multiple ways with people, because policies must be for people, not the paper we write them on," she said.

Feeding the world

A group of international development bodies including the IMF and World Bank this week launched a major plan to try and tackle food insecurity around the world.

It was spearheaded by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said it was necessary because: "There's a very real risk that soaring global market prices of food and fertiliser will result in more people going hungry."

Ms Georgieva said that while there is plenty of food, it is not evenly distributed.

The solutions, she said, are growing more crops where possible but also a greater focus on agricultural productivity, "not only because of the war, but because of climate change".

She added: "Trade needs to be retained open, we should not have a situation in which countries hold on to food more than they need and create all kinds of barriers for moving it from one place to another."

Media caption,

Watch: Ros Atkins on why the war in Ukraine is pushing up food prices - and the likely impact on poorer countries

India is the world's second biggest wheat producer but has banned exports, just as other countries were looking for it to make up some of the shortfall from Ukraine's inability to ship its produce. Narendra Modi's government says that ban could be revised at some point.

"I would really beg them to reconsider, that is such a difficult moment for the world," Ms Georgieva said.

"I understand they need to feed their people. They have 1.4 billion of them, but let's all act in a collaborative manner because only if you do [that, do] we have a chance to overcome this crisis."

Ukraine-related Western sanctions are expected to strengthen ties between Russia and Thailand, boosting trade turnover between the nations to as much as $10 billion, according to Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov.

“The level of $10 billion that we had previously set is still a goal, and an achievable one,” he told journalists after the first day of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which kicked off on Saturday in the Thai capital of Bangkok.

Reshetnikov said that trade between Russia and the South Asian state reached $2.8 billion in 2021, stressing that the two partners expect that figure to multiply.

According to the minister, the countries had discussed the issue of boosting mutual trade earlier in the day.

“New opportunities have appeared… one of them is the automotive industry,” Reshetnikov said, explaining that anti-Russian sanctions are creating favorable circumstances for a large number of countries, including Thailand.

“Thailand has a very strong automotive and automotive components industry,” he added.

Russia and Thailand may boost cooperation in the spheres of energy resources, oil, oil products, gas and fertilizers, as well as food and engineering products, according to the minister.

Reshetnikov noted that the two nations had established diplomatic relations 125 years ago.

“They have not only a wonderful history, they have great opportunities for development, and, I am sure, they have a bright future,” he said.

Italy’s Aurora Vision has joined with Mongolia’s BroSis Pictures and Culture Distributor to co-produce documentary “Round Ger.” The film is among the first to make use of Mongolia’s newly hatched location production rebate scheme.

Co-directed by Lia Beltrami and Bolortsetseg Dugardondov, and produced by Andrea Morghen, Beltrami and Tsengel Davaasambuu, “Round Ger” focuses on the relationship between a young mother and her disabled daughter. Production is expected to get under way in July next year.

“We are determined that Mongolia become a major new location for productions,” Nomin Chinbat, Mongolian minister of culture, told Variety in Cannes. “For that, it is not sufficient simply to have an amazing variety of locations. We also need to be able to offer a meaningful incentive program.”

Vomit, Poop and Woody Harrelson: ‘Triangle of Sadness’ Shocks Cannes With Uproarious Eight-Minute Standing Ovation

Mongolia offers a basic 30% rebate scheme, which is already competitive with other locations in Asia. That can be increased by a further 10% for culturally relevant productions that pass a test. A further 5%, making 45% in total, is available to help with cast and crew costs.

The scheme applies to both film and TV and has a minimum spending requirement of $500,000. There is no cap on the money that can be paid out to any single project, though there is an initial pool of $25 million allocated by the government. Some two years may be needed from first application to final payout.

The new Mongolian National Film Council, the country’s first official government film entity, will operate the rebate plan, and has taken a booth at the Cannes Market. “We want the MNFC to be autonomous from government, even if it is government backed. This is intended to ensure that the incentives are protected in in case of a change of government,” said Chinbat, who was previously the head of Mongol TV. “I think what we have is simple, clean and competitive.”

She says that it took roughly three years to develop the scheme within the ministry and to then convince the finance ministry and lawmakers. It was finally passed in parliament in January this year. “We had to provide examples of the success of similar schemes overseas,” Chinbat said. “And to show the economic benefits of production incentive schemes.”

The country has few formal co-production treaties in the audiovisual sector but has some 43 cultural co-operation agreements with 26 countries. These could help drum up interest in using the location incentive scheme or make it go further.

Mongolia was among the first countries in the world to react to the COVID-19 crisis with shutdowns. These were inevitably disruptive to film and TV production. But Mongolia was also among the first to reopen. Its international borders were open to everyone from Feb. 2022, film releases have picked up in volume and new cinemas have opened in the past two years.

As the pandemic is negatively affecting countries’ food supplies, trade and economy, and cooperation, overcoming the current situation has become of utmost importance for all sectors.

Mongolia has set an objective to provide state support for the sectors of food, agriculture, and light industry, put the sectors’ commodities and products into economic circulation, and boost production in the next five years.

In its framework, Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry Z.Mendsaikhan held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to Mongolia M.P.Singh and Resident Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Mongolia Vinod Ahuja.

During the meeting, the sides discussed cooperating in the production of milk and dairy products through ways such as supplying equipment, introducing biotechnological solutions, and preparing specialists in the veterinary field.

The Minister expressed interest in utilizing India’s advanced technological solutions in the agricultural sector by creating an online platform that will benefit herders and farmers throughout the country.

As of today, the Zamiin-Uud transloading unit of Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC continuously runs operations by loading freight onto 902 train cars each day. At its four sites with 39 hectares of area, they have three broad-gauge railroads and two narrow-gauge railroads, with a total capacity of loading 1,200 train cars.

In charge of handling 100 percent of Mongolia’s railroad freight, the unit loads various types of freight being transported from China in open and enclosed cars as well as containers from narrow-gauge railroads onto the country’s broad-gauge railroad and autoroads. They have transferred and unloaded 348.2 thousand tons of freight so far.

The current facility for the Zamiin-Uud transloading unit was constructed through non-refundable aid from the Japanese government in 1996-1998.

In the early 90s, Mongolia had 1,520 mm broad-gauge tracks, while China had 1,435 mm gauge tracks which created difficulties in conducting transport between the two countries.

Thus, it became necessary to construct a transloading facility at the border checkpoint.

Due to the circumstance, the country’s government put forth a request to the Japanese government to have a study conducted on constructing a transloading facility based near the Zamiin-Uud railway station in November 1990. Per the request, the study was carried out between 1992-1993, and later, an agreement was signed between the two countries’ governments on implementing the project through a non-refundable aid of JPY 2.1 billion. The facility was put into operation in 1994-1996, highlighted Third Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Mongolia Katanoda Tomoki.

As requested by the Mongolian government, a soft loan of JPY 8 billion was also provided for renovating the railroad gauge and train car repairing facility. The Railway Transport Capacity Reinforcement Project was also launched for the Mongolian railroad sector in 1993.

Mongolia has decided to exempt import tariffs for certain food products until the end of this year in order to ensure their supply and price stability.

The government approved a list of certain food products such as sugar, vegetable oil and rice to be exempt from import tariffs.

It is estimated that the exemption is to help reduce the retail price of those products by 4 to 7 percent.

Consumer prices have been rising sharply in Mongolia due to the continued border restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

For example, the average retail price per kilogram of rice stood at MNT 6,900 at the end of the first quarter of this year, up 130 percent from the same period last year.