Ulaanbaatar -- Harnessing the power of technology and innovation for the voice and the political, social, and economic empowerment of women and girls in Mongolia is essential to deliver transformative impact and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Mongolia.

However, the inclusion of women and girls and their safety in the digital space must be prioritized to ensure that the benefits of digital transformation are enjoyed by all equally.

This year’s International Women’s Day sheds a spotlight on the potential of innovation and technology in reducing inequalities and closing gender gaps.

While advancements in digitalization are transforming economies, industries, and societies, women and girls are often being left behind, or worse, harmed by them.

Though Mongolia is making steady progress toward advancing gender equality, the road ahead to full realization of gender equality remains long and arduous. Current global and local crises, including health emergencies, climate change, food insecurity, and cost-of-living crises, are exacerbating the existing inequalities and deeply impacting Mongolia’s most vulnerable, including female-headed households and rural women. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are essential and can play an instrumental role in strengthening their resilience.

Women and girls in Mongolia continue to face widespread discrimination and violence offline and online, unequal access to technology, finance, healthcare, employment, salary and compensation, and decision-making. Cultural and social norms that reinforce gender stereotypes, significantly threaten women’s participation in digital and public spaces and leave tremendous, often irreversible harm on the mental health, well-being, and safety of women and girls.

There is a substantial divide when it comes to education and employment in the ICT sector in Mongolia. For instance, male students comprise 73 percent of graduates in information technology of total university graduates as of 2022.

We must address these issues with a multi-faceted and concerted approach by challenging harmful gender norms and developing an enabling environment that ensures women and girls have equal access to technology, skills, employment, and opportunities to fully participate in the digital economy.

We call on all Mongolian men and women, boys and girls to join the UN in Mongolia in realizing our common vision for an inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous Mongolia where:

a girl grows and thrives in a safe and healthy environment without any forms of violence, neglect, or exploitation, and pursues any career, including one in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), should she choose to do so;

a professional woman gets compensated fairly and equally according to her skills, not by her gender;

a woman entrepreneur trades at a high level and on improved terms benefiting from the digital economy;

a migrant woman enjoys decent socioeconomic opportunities without being left behind;

a herdswoman plays an active role in rural development;

a girl and woman feel their voices are heard, and a woman enjoys equal participation at the decision-making level at home and in public

a young woman makes her own decision regarding her health and body without being harassed;

the rights and welfare of healthcare workers (80%+ are women) are protected and supported.

We call on the Government of Mongolia and all of our partners to work together to ensure women and girls are not left behind or their safety or well-being is compromised when utilizing technology and innovation to accelerate Mongolia’s sustainable development.

MANILA, Philippines — State-owned National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) strengthened its partnership with its counterparts in member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations through the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Cagamas Berhad of Malaysia and the Mongolian Mortgage Finance Corp. (MIK) in Sentosa, Singapore on Monday.

NHMFC president Renato Tobias, Cagamas Berhad president and CEO Datuk Chung Chee Leong and MIK CEO Gantulga Badamkhatan signed the MOU during the International Secondary Mortgage Market Association meeting held on the same day in Sentosa.

As the government’s sole secondary mortgage institution under the umbrella organization of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the NHMFC seeks to collaborate with its international counterparts and exchange information on research and programs related to housing finance, mortgage market, mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and other funding instruments.

“The sealing of this NHMFC partnership with Cagamas and MIK is well-timed,” Tobias said.

“As one of the key shelter agencies under the leadership of DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar, NHMFC is in full support of the government’s Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program or 4PH. With this collaboration with our international counterparts, we can explore solutions to issues on housing and share our experiences and knowledge on policies, research and program that will help us improve our country’s housing situation,” Tobias said.

He added that under the MOU, the housing organizations also commit to share risk management programs that ensure the health of the MBS market. It also allows the NHMFC, Cagamas and MIK to share comparison of housing finance, mortgage and investor activities, as well as housing price monitoring, in their respective countries.

Cagamas Berhad issues corporate bonds and sukuk to finance the purchase of housing loans and receivables from financial institutions, selected corporations and the public sector, while the MIK promotes development of the primary and secondary mortgage markets by issuing and selling mortgage-backed securities in domestic and international capital markets.

Foreign Minister of Mongolia Battsetseg Batmonkh will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan on March 8-9 at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov, Montsame reported.

Battsetseg Batmonkh will meet with the leadership of the government of Uzbekistan, hold official talks with her Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov.

Bilateral meetings are planned with representatives of the ministries of trade, investment, agriculture and transport.

It is expected that the agenda during these meetings will cover the deepening of Mongolian-Uzbek cooperation, including the expansion of trade and economic cooperation and the exchange of views on international and regional issues.

The upcoming visit will be the first visit at the level of a foreign minister since the establishment of diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan in 1992, the Mongolian Foreign Ministry notes.

McElroy is pleased to announce the addition of a new distributor to sell and service fusion machinery in Mongolia.

EES Engineering is based in Khoroo, Mongolia and caters to the country’s fast-growing mining industry.

Munkherdene Sanjdorj, head of Business Development at EES Engineering, said his company was first introduced to McElroy equipment while working with the Oyu Tolgoi Mine in the southern part of the country.

“Our company was founded in 2015, at which time the mining industry in Mongolia was still quite young,” said Sanjdorj. “The core of our business is mining equipment and maintenance, so when we were introduced to McElroy equipment, we were quite excited to get involved.”

“EES, LLC is a new and growing company, and we’re excited to help play a part in their success,” said McElroy CEO and President Chip McElroy.

The company prides itself on promoting the latest technology, services, and equipment to boost productivity, quality, and safety in Mongolia.

“From the start, we (EES Engineering’s ownership) wanted to introduce Western brands to the country, as well as an understanding of the equipment itself,” Sanjdorj added.

“Our mining industry is still in a maturing phase, and local companies still have a lot of room for learning.”

Sanjdorj said the company was also drawn to the service training available for McElroy equipment. Through McElroy University, McElroy offers multiple levels of technician and service training, allowing distributors to maintain the highest standards in terms of quality and reliability.

To join McElroy’s distributor network, companies must demonstrate a commitment to providing the same level of service and support that has been a cornerstone of McElroy since its inception. Distributors understand McElroy equipment and the fusion process and are trained to provide service and support.

“We need to be self-reliant when it comes to looking after our machines,” he said. “In the last three years, when many technicians couldn’t enter the country, we were tested to the maximum. We realized the benefit of self-sufficiency and self-reliance when it comes to maintaining and servicing our equipment.”

Annual camel festival was held in Mongolia’s southern province of South Gobi (Umnugobi), as the country hopes to revive its tourism sector and pass on the camel culture to the next generations.

Hundreds of camel herders and camels across the nomadic country participated in the two-day festival held in the provincial capital city of Dalanzadgad. The “Ten Thousand Camel Festival” event includes camel polo, camel racing, camel parade, camel relay races, camel auction and an exhibition of camel products.

Mongolia has planned more than 90 events, including the camel festival, to attract tourists, declaring 2023-2025 as “Years to Visit Mongolia.”

South Gobi has the largest camel population in the country, accounting for over 30 percent of the national total.

On March 8, at 2:00 PM EST, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, along with the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, will host the annual International Women of Courage (IWOC) Awards in an award ceremony at the White House and present awards to each of the eleven 2023 IWOC awardees, recognizing their exceptional courage, strength, and leadership.

The award ceremony will be live streamed on www.state.gov in Mongolia on March 9, at 3:00 AM ULAT.

Brigadier General Bolor Ganbold will be honored for her nearly 30 years of courageous service to Mongolia and the series of firsts she has achieved, which have broken barriers and opened the door for other women to follow. On March 18, 2022, Brigadier General Bolor earned yet another first, becoming the first woman general in the Mongolian Armed Forces. Her experiences as a member of both the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad in 2010 and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan in 2013, as well as serving as a Peacekeeping Affairs Officer within the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, have guided her efforts in seeking to reduce the various barriers that prevent women from fully developing their potential as peacekeepers. Brigadier General Bolor utilizes her current position as the Chief of the Education and Training Directorate of the General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces to advance gender equality in all facets of the Mongolian Armed Forces’ organizational structure, activities, and operations.

Attributed to U.S. Ambassador Richard Buangan:

The U.S. Embassy in Mongolia is proud that Brigadier General Bolor Ganbold has been selected as one of 11 women leaders to receive the International Women of Courage Award. It is the most prestigious award given by the U.S. Secretary of State to women from around the world who demonstrate exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating peace, justice, human rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls, often at personal risk and sacrifice. I hope that her story and the story of other IWOC Awardees will serve as sources of inspiration for women and girls around the world to break gender barriers, advance equality, and build brighter futures for all.

As the first woman general in the Mongolian Armed Forces, BG Bolor has opened the door for women to rise in military ranks that are traditionally reserved for men and paved the path for women in uniform to serve as leaders in UN peacekeeping.

My colleagues and I look forward to following the ceremony online when BG Bolor receives her award from Secretary Blinken and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the White House in Washington DC on March 8.

Courageous women inspire a better world. Now in its 17th year, the Secretary of State’s IWOC Award recognizes women from around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, and women’s empowerment – often at great personal risk and sacrifice. Since March 2007, the Department of State has recognized more than 180 awardees from over 80 countries. U.S. diplomatic missions nominate one woman of courage from their respective host countries and finalists are selected and approved by senior Department officials. Learn more about IWOC at https://www.state.gov/secretary-of-states-international.../.

Following the IWOC ceremony, Brigadier General Bolor will continue to participate in a two-week International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) exchange and connect with American counterparts throughout the United States. Brigadier General Bolor will visit Cleveland and Los Angeles and cultivate relationships with her counterparts to share strategies and ideas to empower women and girls around the globe, in all their diversity.

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program. Through short-term visits to the United States, current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields experience this country firsthand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. Learn more about the IVLP here: https://eca.state.gov/ivlp.

Media outlets in Mongolia are encouraged to reach out to PasPress@usembassy.mn email for more information. We also invite you to follow #IWOC2023 and #WomenOfCourage on social media for updates on this year’s awards.

Parliament approved the Law on Regulation Activities of Money Loans and the law entered into force on March 01, 2023. The law aims to register and control legal entities engaged in the operation of money loans granted under the collateral lending procedure. It also applies to a citizen who participates in money-lending activities regularly and for the purpose of making a profit. The Law provides for regulations related to setting the maximum interest rate for loans, paying the loan and its interest, and protecting the rights and legal interests of the client in the operation of money loans.

The Law has defined the following requirements for entities and citizens engaged in money loans;

the amount of capital (cash) of citizens – for loan activities - and the amount of capital contributed by legal entities must not be less than MNT10.0 million,

staff (executive management, managers, and related employees) must have attended training,

possession of a current bank account for cash loan operations,

registration as a taxpayer,

cash register and printing equipment connected to the unified tax system,

a workplace that meets the requirements and standards for the activity (in order to engage in money loan activities under the collateral lending procedure),

the online registration process, and

connection to an electronic database;

Regarding the Law, in cases where the capital contribution of a legal entity engaged in money loan activities is MNT100.0 million in provinces (and more than and MNT300.0 million in the capital), it shall be registered with the Financial Regulation Commission. In other cases, it shall apply to and request registration with the Governor of the aimag, or Ulaanbaatar, respectively. Before the Law enters into force, a pawnshop that has entered into an agreement with the competent authority shall be registered with the relevant registration authority (within one year after the Law enters into force.

The Law on the Regulation Activities of Money Loans includes the following detailed regulations related to money loans. Unregistered entities shall not engage in money loan activities or not make advertising about money loan activities. Registered entities shall set the interest rate at the maximum loan interest rate determined by the Money Loans Policy Council and work according to the calculation of the amount of loan interest and the methodology. Registered entities shall not pledge items registered with the electronic database containing information on lost items. Registered entities shall immediately report suspicious items to the Police.

Registered entities shall deliver the notice of enforcement of the lien to the borrower, and borrowers must pay it within 14 days. If the mortgagor requests, determine the value of the mortgaged item by an expert before selling it. If the entity sells the pledged item, the rest of the income will be paid to the pledgee after deducting the pledge requirement.

The implementation of the Law has the following significance;

empowering legal entities engaged in money loans activities as professional financial participants,

improve service standards,

protect the rights of customers,

prevent citizens from becoming victims of high-interest money laundering,

prevent crime by reducing the act of taking loans against stolen goods, and

combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

As soon as the Law comes into force, citizens will have the possibility to check whether an entity is registered with the competent authority when receiving financial services from a legal entity engaged in money loan activities. People will be able to review the terms of the loan and interest rates and minimize any possible risks.

Source: Financial Regulatory Commission