RAPID CITY, S.D. — A delegation of prosecutors from Mongolia visited city hall Tuesday afternoon as part of an exchange program hosted by the Dacotah Territory International Visitor Program, a non-profit organization founded in Rapid City in 1995.

The program promotes global understanding through professional, cultural and educational person-to-person exchanges with international visitors and local citizens.

Mayor Steve Allender greeted the delegation and spent nearly an hour with the group in Council Chambers.

“I enjoy meeting our international visitors,” said Mayor Allender. “It’s great these groups come to Rapid City and the Black Hills for a few days to learn about Rapid City, our area and the state. We get to share experiences – they learn from us, and we from them.”

The group visited informally about how city government operates, the work of law enforcement in the community, how city government and operations are financed and supported by citizens, the roles of mayor, city council and the various departments and staff, and how life is similar and different in Mongolia versus Rapid City.

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The group presented Mayor Allender a gift from Mongolia and the mayor presented city pins to each member of the Mongolian delegation. The group spent two days last week in Washington, DC and is spending the week in South Dakota.

The trip includes visits to the local court system and with state and local court officials and attorneys.

The end of 2021 saw Mongolia’s State Great Khural (parliament) ratify the ‘New Revival’ policy. As the COVID-19 pandemic led to Mongolia’s largest economic contraction since 1990 (-5.3%), the policy aims to ensure political and macroeconomic stability, accelerate public-private partnerships, create a favourable business environment, further open up the state to foreign and domestic investment, and implement fiscal reforms.

The policy’s implementation is also expected to establish a path in which the Vision 2050 policy goals can be achieved. Overall, the policy identifies six ‘recovery’ areas, which are Port, Energy, Industrial, Urban and Rural, Green Growth, and State Productivity recovery. Each of these recovery areas aim to overcome obstacles that limit Mongolia’s development.

This New Revival Policy presents opportunities to further develop EU-Mongolian trade and investment ties, building on Mongolia’s participation in the GSP+ Scheme (General Scheme of Preferences Plus), and the 2017 ratification of the EU-Mongolia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). Specifically, the policy’s plan to expand Mongolia’s Free Economic Zones (FEZs), as well as improve domestic transport and sustainable energy sources provide the EU with opportunities to invest in, and aid Mongolia to achieve goals set out in the New Revival and Vision 2050 policies. For instance, the Green Growth strategy’s Billion Tree initiative provides opportunities to collaborate with Mongolia in combating desertification, as well as for the EU to invest in new streams of employment in the agricultural and forestry sectors. Moreover, given Mongolia’s GSP+ beneficiary status, which provides them duty-free exports on 66% of listed goods to the EU, the revival policy also presents opportunities for Mongolian businesses to expand their presence in the EU market and for EU businesses to expand their operations in Mongolia.

This Op-ed will analyse the New Revival policy and the key policies of each of the recovery areas. It will also look into how the EU can further invest in Mongolia, taking a focus on the mining and energy sectors, as well as on green development.

The New Revival Policy: A Post-Pandemic Renaissance

The New Revival policy aims to encourage Mongolia’s post-pandemic recovery by opening up the country to domestic and foreign investment. Such builds on the Vision 2050 policy, which aims to enhance Mongolia’s ‘social development, economic growth and its citizens’ quality of life’ by 2050. The Vision 2050 policy aims to achieve this by reducing poverty, creating a greener economy, improving the quality of education, and improving job access and equality for women. During the 2021 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Khürelsükh announced Mongolia’s aim to implement the Billion Tree initiative, which was then included in the New Revival policy. Then in December 2021, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene outlined how the New Revival policy’s full implementation would see Mongolia’s GDP double, and the creation of a further 285,000 jobs by 2025. Moreover, he articulated how the policy would also see a doubling of the state’s energy capacity, and a tripling of dry port, land (border) port and airport capacity. Although the policy’s implementation is set to cost 100-120 trillion MNT (33-40 billion USD), he also argued that the policy’s outcome would see an improvement in Mongolians’ living standards, an increase in better-paying jobs in rural areas, and that the generated income will facilitate other developmental projects in the state.

Having attracted investment from China, Japan, and Kuwait, the Port Revival policy aims to increase the capacity of Mongolia’s dry ports, land ports and airports, and improve the state’s transport infrastructure. Such is to encourage inter-regional competition and facilitate international trade. This policy includes the expansion of the Mongolian railway and highway network, as well as plans to further expand airport capacity. The rail expansion plans include the construction of railroads at the Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod and Shiveekhuren-Sekhee border checkpoints (Figure 1), as well as plans to construct cross country railways, such as the 1200km western Artssuuri-Nariinsukhait, Shiveekuren railway, and the eastern 420km Choibalsan-Khuut, Bichigt railway (figure 1).

The highway expansion includes the plan to build the 987 km Altanbulag, Zamiin-Uud highway which aims to connect Chinese and Russian border ports by road (Figure 2). Moreover, the airport expansions include the new Kuwait-funded Undurkhaan Airport, and the Deluun Boldog Airport, both of which are still under construction. This has been further coupled with the expansion of free economic zones (FEZ), such as the recent commissioning of the Khushig Valley FEZ.

The improvement in transport infrastructure feeds into the Industrial Revival strategy. This strategy aims to diversify Mongolia’s export market through the establishment of more value-added mining and agricultural processing plants (such as the Tavan Tolgoi coal concentrator, and Erdenet copper plant). Moreover, it also aims to expand their digital economy by creating a talent base, so as to develop science-based industries such as that surrounding digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain.

The Energy Revival strategy aims to integrate Mongolia into regional energy networks, and reduce their reliance on energy imports. Such includes the development of a high voltage transmission line which will connect Mongolia and Russia into the Northeast Asian Super Grid (Figure 3),as well as the construction of the Soyuz-Vostok gas pipeline from Russia through Mongolia to China (Figure 4). The policy also aims to commission new thermal plants and develop energy infrastructure in Mongolia, and invest into less polluting sources of energy, such as hydropower. This feeds into Mongolia’s Green Growth strategy, which aims to promote eco-friendly development through maintaining a ‘balanced ecosystem.’ Such includes the Blue Horse national program, which despite previous controversies surrounding its plans to flood the UNESCO world heritage site ‘Landscapes of Dauria’, the program aims to improve the national supply of drinking water and water for irrigation. Moreover, it also aims to revive dried lakes, ponds and rivers, and transport water to the Gobi region through the construction of dams and reservoirs. The Green Growth strategy also includes the Billion Tree initiative, of which aims to increase total national forest cover by 9% by 2030, the building of recycling plants, as well as the use of advanced sustainable technologies in aimags (provinces) and Ulaanbaator.

The Urban and Rural Revival strategy aims to encourage rural development and take the pressure away from cities, such as Ulaanbaatar. As its success depends on the successful implementation of the Port, Energy, and Industrial Revival strategies, the policy will encourage aimags to develop their own projects under the New Revival policy, and will aim to develop their centres as independent cities. Such will reduce urbanisation pressures on Ulaanbaatar, thus reducing the capital’s pollution and traffic congestion levels. The State Productivity Revival policy aims to improve the efficiency of the government by digitalising services, strengthening penalties for corruption and official crimes, and streamlining the administrative structures and government organisations by transferring functions to the private sector and professional associations.

What Can the EU do?

Mongolia has been a beneficiary of the EU’s GSP+ scheme (General Scheme of Preferences Plus) since 2005, and the EU is their third largest trading partner. Moreover, the EU has heavily invested into Mongolia, funding over 150 million EUR into development cooperation projects between 2015 and 2020. Such projects include areas such as the environment and sustainable energy (95 million EUR), mining and infrastructure (42 million EUR), and education, science, culture and health initiatives (21.6 million EUR). The EU TRAM Scheme (Trade Related Assistance for Mongolia) also works with the Mongolian government and businesses to diversify their exports through a value chain development approach, aid them to negotiate and implement trade policies, as well as improve the competitiveness of non-mineral products. This is all whilst ensuring that standards are adhered to by introducing international best practices in trade facilitation. Moreover, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested over 827 million EUR into the state over the past year, of which 71% (587 million EUR) went into industrial, commercial and agribusiness projects. With such high levels of cooperation, the New Revival’s policies offer even greater opportunities for investment and collaboration between the EU and Mongolia, in particular in mining and energy sectors, as well as in green development.

Mongolia is a mineral-rich country, and the EU invests heavily into sustainable development and trade within the mining sector. Germany, as an example, has a large presence in Mongolia, investing into initiatives promoting the sustainable development of the sector, such as the Integrated Mineral Resources Initiative (IMRI), as well as into initiatives which promote job and skills training, such as the establishment of the German Mongolian Institute for Resource and Technology in Ulaanbaatar, which offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in engineering. Moreover, the German copper producer Aurubis also signed a 15-year purchase agreement with the Mongolian company MAK in 2016. This agreement will supply 150,000 tons of copper concentrate produced at the Tsagaansuvarga mine to Aurubis.

The Port Revival strategy aims to develop the Free Economic Zones (FEZ) and domestic transport networks through connecting mining sites to both border ports and FEZ and transport hubs. This will allow the EU to further expand their presence in the mining sector, and will also offer the EU opportunities to aid Mongolia in diversifying their export market, especially in the value-added sectors. The recent establishment of the Khushig Valley FEZ will offer VAT and custom-free imports and zero VAT on domestic goods transported to the area. Moreover, its close proximity to the capital city and the New Ulaanbaatar international airport will provide businesses access to the global import and export markets, as well as to the capital’s talent. In aiding Mongolia to work towards the aims of the Industrial and Urban-Rural strategies, the EU could invest into the FEZ, opening value-added mining plants for the export market, and in the case of the Khushig Valley, use their close access to Ulaanbaatar to draw and train local talent. Given Mongolia’s GSP+ status, investment into the FEZs could further aid their export diversification in the mining and agricultural sectors, and expand the amount they export to the EU. Such would be in line with the EU’s Multi-Indicative Programme in Mongolia, and could be bolstered through investments into local infrastructure. Although the EU must take actions to limit the industry’s impact on the environment, such investments would both aid Mongolia in working to become economically independent, as well as further enhance EU-Mongolian ties.

The EU could further invest in projects which aim to reduce energy production and energy uses’ inefficiencies, as well as collaborate with the state and other institutions to fund green energy. At present, the EU funds initiatives such as the ‘Efficiency of Grid-based Energy Supply Schemes’ project (ENEV), which works to improve the energy efficiency of public buildings, and initiatives to improve and modernise technology in power plants. Although many of the newly commissioned thermal plants have received funding from other states, such as South Korea and China, the EU could work to invest into upgrading existing and new plants with technology that reduces consumption inefficiencies, as well as into building more energy efficient plants in import dependent regions, such as those in the western transmission system. Such would have the potential to aid Mongolia to reduce their reliance on energy imports, as well as reduce costs of energy production.

In aiding the state’s green energy transition, the EU could collaborate with the Mongolian government in harnessing their renewable energy source potential. Mongolia has a solar and wind potential that is equivalent to 2,600GW of installed capacity annually, of which meets their domestic energy demands (1.2GW in 2018). As underlined by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it has not been harnessed due to poor flexible generation, and that the ‘market lacks the system to provide regulation or ancillary service in an efficient manner.’ The ADB has worked to combat this issue by loaning Mongolia 100 million USD to fund the installation of a battery energy storage system (BESS). As underlined by the ADB, This system will have a capacity of 125 MW/160MWh and will ‘supply clean peaking power that is charged by renewable energy electricity and provide regulation reserve to integrate additional renewable energy capacity in the transmission grid.’ The BESS system is estimated to reduce Mongolia’s CO2 emissions by 842,039 tons per year by 2025, and will provide 859GWh of renewable electricity into the central grid annually. Given that France’s energy conglomerate, Engie, already operates a 55 MW wind farm in Sainshand, the EU could further build on such expertise and expand their presence in the country, and collaborate with the Mongolian government in developing their solar and wind energy capacities through the export of solar panels and wind turbines. In ensuring the sector’s development, this could be supported by skills training initiatives. This would both develop a workforce in this sector, as well as aid Mongolia in working to balance urban-rural development by offering high paying jobs outside of urban centres.

With regard to the Green Growth strategy, the EU could also invest into Mongolia’s Billion Tree initiative, as well as support work in the forestry sector. At present, due to high amounts of forest fires, unsustainable forestry and mining activities, and overgrazing, Mongolia is described as the world’s desertification hotspot, with over 90% of the state’s land being at risk. Whilst the Billion Tree national initiative has attracted the support of 300 companies in Ulaanbaatar and has seen Mongolia’s forested area increase by 0.2% between 2016 and 2021 (national forest cover at 8%), there are still criticisms that the initiative remains understaffed. This is especially important as trees require a high amount of care following being planted, and, due to Mongolia’s harsh climate, ongoing special care to ensure their growth and protection. Although Defence Minister Saikhanbayar has underlined that the armed forces will aid in caring for the trees, the state has also articulated their interest in bolstering the sector and opening it up for investment.

As the EU has invested into environmental protection projects in Mongolia, such as Germany’s ‘Protecting Mongolia’s Unique Biodiversity’ initiative, and the Czech Republic’s funding of the ‘Development of Forest and the Gene Pool of Local Forest Tree Ecotypes,’ the EU could both supply seeds for the initiative, as well as invest into further developing skills training in the forestry and agricultural management sectors. Skills training in the short term would foster a talent pool which would protect and aid the forests’ development, and in the long term, would diversify and open up new opportunities in the forestry sector, such as in green tourism. Investments into agricultural management would help improve farming practices, and thus limit the impact which overgrazing has on desertification. Such investments would not only aid Mongolia to reach the goals set out in the Green Growth recovery, but would also bridge their urban-rural development gap by providing high salaried jobs in rural areas.

Ultimately, the New Revival policy both paves a path for Mongolia’s recovery from the pandemic, as well as aids them in becoming economically independent. Although the policy seemingly does not address issues surrounding poverty, a key issue in Mongolia, it nonetheless provides a clear path for social and economic development. Given the sheer amount of investment opportunities this policy offers, the EU should actively consider investing into Mongolia as a means of strengthening bilateral ties, encouraging trade in the mining and energy sectors, as well as in aiding forestry development. Although considerations must be taken surrounding the conditions and the nature of the investment, this policy has the potential to further expand and diversify Mongolia’s export market to the EU under the GSP+ system, and enable EU companies to expand their operations in Mongolia.

Author: Matt Bonini, EIAS Junior Researcher

Mongolian commercial banks have imposed limitations on foreign-exchange transactions amid the country's dwindling forex reserves due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Mongolia's forex reserves fell to 3.3 billion U.S. dollars as of Tuesday, down 1.2 billion dollars from the end of 2021, Atarbaatar Enkhjin, head of the reserve management and financial markets department of the Bank of Mongolia, said in a statement.

The decline in forex reserves is likely the result of a 40-percent increase in imports since the beginning of this year, and COVID-19 restrictions have prevented the country from exporting much of its coal, its main export product, despite the high prices of raw materials in the world market.

"Also, due to the situation between Russia and Ukraine that began in late February, the uncertainty of the external environment is deteriorating beyond our expectations. Due to this, there is a certain pressure on the forex reserves and the exchange rate of the Mongolian Tugriks," Enkhjin said.

Mongolia's forex reserves stood at 4.9 billion dollars at the end of April 2021, hitting an all-time high, according to the central bank.

Since the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Feb. 24, Mongolian commercial banks have begun to impose unexpected limitations on the daily volume of transactions of U.S. dollars.

The central bank explained that limiting U.S.-dollar transactions was not made by the Bank of Mongolia but by commercial banks themselves due to the lack of foreign exchange supply in the market.

A month ago, a daily limit of 50 million Mongolian tugriks (about 16,550 dollars) was imposed on foreign currency transactions for individuals. The amount then dropped sharply to 30 million and continued to fall to the current limit of 300,000 tugriks (about 99.3 dollars).

Mongolia exported 2.52 million tonnes of coal during the first three months of 2022, down 62.18% year on year, showed the latest data from the Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA).

The exports were worth $676 million in January-March, down 1.9% year on year.

MCGA didn't release the specific figure for March, yet Sxcoal calculated the exports at 1.23 million tonnes based on the overall exports published by the customs authority, down 42.83% year on year but up 81.99% month on month, registering the third consecutive month of rise.

The exports were worth $349 million in March, with average price at $284.76/t, rising $172.10/t year on year and $13.49/t month on month.

coal,coal price,coke,China coal,coking coal,thermal coal

Mongolia exported 2.34 million tonnes of coal to China from January to March, dropping 62.51% year on year, taking up 93% of the total.

In March, exports to China declined 44.50% year on year but rose 80.18% month on month to 1.13 million tonnes, taking up 92% of the total. The exports were worth $323 million, with average price at $285.14/t, up $174.64/t year on year and $12.03/t month on month.

coal,coal price,coke,China coal,coking coal,thermal coal

Mongolia's exports of bituminous coal declined 62.00% year on year to 2.49 million tonnes over January-March; that of anthracite were 35,900 tonnes, compared with zero a year ago; and other coal exports fell to zero, compared with 126,900 tonnes a year earlier.

coal,coal price,coke,China coal,coking coal,thermal coal

In March, Mongolia's bituminous coal exports stood at 1.21 million tonnes, down 42.27% year on year but up 81.94% month on month; exports of anthracite stood at 19,300 tonnes, rising 85.32% year on year; other coal exports were null in March, compared with 54,300 tonnes a year ago.

(Writing by Lilya Li Editing by Tammy Yang)

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) saw its Kamoa-Kakula copper mining complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hit a new production record in the first quarter of this year, with 55,602 tonnes in the period.

The Canadian miner, which kicked off production at the asset last year, said the operation also reached a monthly all-time-high of 19,605 tonnes of copper produced in March.

Commercial production of the 3.8-million-tonne-a-year Phase 2 concentrator plant at Kamoa-Kakula was declared last week, Ivanhoe said. This pushed daily output to a fresh high on April 8, with 25,126 tonnes milled and 1,202 tonnes of copper produced.

The company is confident the early commissioning of the Phase 2 concentrator plant will enable Kamoa Copper to reach the upper end of its 2022 copper production guidance of 290,000 to 340,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate.

The Phase 3 expansion is also advancing, Ivanhoe said, with first copper production expected by the end of 2024.

Co-chairperson Robert Friedland, who made his fortune from the Voisey’s Bay nickel project in Canada in the 1990s, believes the complex will become the world’s second-largest copper mine with the highest grades among major operations.

The Vancouver-based company has also vowed to produce the industry’s “greenest” copper, as it works to become the first net-zero operational carbon emitter among the world’s top-tier copper producers. Friedland has not set a target date for achieving that goal.

Construction work of a 25MW thermal plant will begin this May in Uliastai soum of Zavkhan aimag.

Within the framework of the government’s New Revival Policy, thermal plants with capacity of 25MW, 30MW and 5MW are planned to be built in Uliastai, Tosontsengel and Aldarkhaan soums respectively.

This year, it is also expected to have large construction works including ‘Arts suuri - Shivee khuren’ railroad, 167km auto road from Numrug and Tuduvtei soums to Arts suuri border crossing, 190 km auto road between Altai and Uliastai soums as well as wastewater treatment plant in Uliastai soum.

Zavkhan aimag receives more than 70 percent of its energy from central energy grid and 30 percent from the Taishir hydropower plant. The construction of abovementioned facilities will have a significant impact on the aimag’s economy and livelihoods, creating opportunities for SMEs development.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Communications of Mongolia and the e-Governance Academy signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 8 April to support the digital transformation of Mongolia.

The MoU was signed by B. Bolor-Erdene, State Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, and Hannes Astok, Executive Director of the e-Governance Academy.

The memorandum covers the following activities:

Digital skills improvement of civil servants responsible for the digital transformation of the government

Exchange of experience in introducing new, innovative and advanced technologies,

Support the development of the digital transformation strategies and e-government regulatory models

Improvement of the interoperability between main registers and databases

Re-design of e-services, development of digital identity and digital signature, and e-government financing framework

Cyber security capacity building

The collaboration with the Government of Mongolia started in 2020 with consultations on the e-government related policy development, the interoperability between public registers and databases and citizens’ digital awareness raising. Moreover, eGA experts compiled recommendations to the partner organisation (CITA) on key activities for further digital transformation.

Mongolia’s government has outlined the details of a sweeping economic roadmap for post-Covid revival. Dubbed the ‘New Recovery’ policy, the reform package combines both structural policy changes, such as partial privatisation of some state-owned enterprises, and major infrastructure initiatives, including the approval for a light rail transit system in the capital.

Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene invited local businesses, foreign partners and international organisations to cooperate on a 150 trillion MNT ($49b) investment goal, that aims to double GDP by clearing hurdles in six priority areas: energy, border ports, industrialization, urban and rural recovery, green development, and public sector efficiency.

Approved by the Mongolian parliament in December, the policy comes atop the already-committed 10 trillion MNT ($3.3b) for financial aid, helping to keep over 64,400 businesses afloat and save 360,000 jobs.

Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene also highlighted the government’s push for higher transparency and accountability, as part of the ambition, to reduce institutional corruption and improve the overall business climate. The Prime Minister thus announced a plan for partial privatisation of some state-owned enterprises via follow-on public offerings of up to 34% equity on the Mongolian Stock Exchange as one of the mechanisms to infuse private

sector expertise and good governance best practices.

Discussions at the Forum also addressed immediate economic concerns. The Prime Minister revealed that the government has just introduced a bill outlining a price-capping mechanism to stabilise prices of meat, flour and petroleum to the Mongolian parliament, in response to record inflation.

In his closing remarks, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene highlighted the Forum’s dual role as a place for consultation with the industry and also as a platform to generate growth that should be accessible and shared by every Mongolian, also extending appreciation to the Mongolian youth for their activism.

The Mongolian Economic Forum 2022 is the 9th time the event has been held at the Government Palace in Ulaanbaatar since its inception in 2010. The annual two-day forum was hosted by the Prime Minister of Mongolia and presents attendees with the opportunity to hear from the senior members of the

government, as well as interview opportunities with ministers responsible for key policy measures. Experts from diverse fields also undertake panel discussions about the future of the Mongolian economy.

From 5 to 8 April 2022 a team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Mongolia to present the final report of ODIHR’s Special Election Assessment Mission to the 9 June 2021 presidential election.

The report’s findings and recommendations were presented to representatives of the General Election Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Audit Office, the Communications Regulatory Commission, the Administrative Court of Appeals, the Parliamentary Committee on State Structure, and other government ministries and agencies, as well as to representatives of civil society organizations and the international community.

“ODIHR encourages the government and other stakeholders to start working on electoral reforms well ahead of the next elections,” said Lolita Cigane, Head of ODIHR’s Special Election Assessment Mission to the 2021 presidential election. “We greatly value our co-operation with our Mongolian partners and are looking forward to holding discussions in the near future on how to further strengthen Mongolia’s electoral process.”

ODIHR reiterated that the elections were well-administered and competitive, with candidates able freely to convey their platforms to voters. However certain regulations, including those on the right to stand and on media coverage of the elections, are overly restrictive. ODIHR drew attention to its priority recommendations, such as allowing for independent candidates and nominations from non-parliamentary parties, as well as measures to improve the regulation of the campaign, campaign financing, and the media.

The authorities discussed ODIHR’s potential engagement in providing legal and technical expertise to assist in implementing these recommendations. This may include discussions or a legal review related to potential changes to the electoral system and amendments to the electoral legislation, and the potential contribution from ODIHR to exploratory discussions related to the implementation of electronic voting.

All OSCE participating States have committed to promptly follow up on ODIHR’s electoral assessments and recommendations.

Last week Ulaanbaatar hosted the 2022 ‘Mongolia Economic Forum,’ with hundreds of representatives from across the government, private sector and civil society coming together over two days to discuss the country’s pressing economic issues and the elements of the government’s ‘New Recovery’ Policy: Mongolia's plan for recovery and renewal through public-private partnerships.

"A very difficult crisis between Russia and Ukraine that began on Feb 24 has become one of the most pressing geopolitical challenges for the world. This is a blow to the economies of countries that have just begun recovering from the two-year pandemic and to the positive outlook of the world's banking and financial institutions on economic growth" Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene told the opening ceremony of the forum.

"Now, we are also facing the challenge of how to grow the Mongolian economy in these difficult times – but we are optimistic," Oyun-Erdene said, noting that Mongolia has already started working on the restart of the economy.

The Forum is organized in accordance with the country’s ‘New Recovery’ Policy framework - introduced to revive the country's economy post the COVID-19 pandemic, including comprehensive reforms in such fields as ports, energy, industry, green development and government productivity.

Nomin Chinbat is the Culture Minister for Mongolia and Chair of the Mongolia Economic Forum Working Group.

Speaking to EU Reporter, she said

“Mongolia is open for foreign direct investment and tourism, directly thanks to my country’s handling of the pandemic and the large uptake of vaccines across the country thanks to the government’s vaccination drive. Our economic future will be driven by the ‘New Recovery Policy’ which is the government’s plan for economic growth and prosperity.”

Fundamental to the growth of the economy was the action taken by the government on Covid. “It feels like we're once again living under normal conditions. As of a month ago almost all restrictions were lifted. Amongst those who would be classed as vulnerable, we have vaccinated 96% with one dose, 92% with two doses of vaccine, whilst 53% of those classed as vulnerable have had three vaccine doses. We have vaccinated around 70% of the overall population with one shot, 67% with two shots and over 32% with a third booster shot.

“Other countries started by vaccinating the vulnerable, but we actually approached it the other way around. Here, multiple generations of families live together, so we started with the people who actually go out a lot into society rather than those staying at home. In my opinion, that was the right move.

“During the pandemic, we focussed on the health of the nation first, rightly, and thereafter shifting our attention to both that of public health and the wider economy. We are now laser-focused on the wider economy and driving growth.

“This means not just holding an economic forum, but demonstrating that our lives can go back to normal, that we’re open for business for anyone to come to Mongolia, that our tourism sector is open, and that our businesses are back too.

“It’s been challenging but having said that we're back and have started to welcome tourists. We are formulating policies that can further bring tourists to the country.

“Just to name a couple, we have an open-air policy coming being brought forward as well as e-visas, where people can come to visit and obtain a visa at the border.

“We’re a small country with many different cultural backgrounds. We have a rich cultural heritage, which is something we are excited to show off as a result of our past. You have to remember that our nomadic culture and society were pretty much preserved as were up until thirty years ago.

“The economy changed to be more democratic, and tourism and business have opened up. As a result, we have managed to preserve our cultural heritage really well. We have a culture and nomadic lifestyle which is a bit different from what you may know, and so based on our nomadic history and background, our art and culture are very unique.

“Since I took over the position of Minister of Culture we have worked closely with a former advisor to UNESCO on our cultural creative industry development policy.

“And we've just recently finished with our White Paper and roadmap, so in that sense, we are working on creating alternative industry development opportunities.

“We've selected the 12 sectors in which to promote our creative industries, and from these, five sectors as our key sectors, including film, fine art, music, fashion and gaming, which is what our future generations are already interested in.

Our young people rarely watch TV anymore, they're interested in living their life online in the metaverse. So we've created our policy based on the resources that we have and what we believe the future will look like, and then, using our heritage, we’re putting together a credible offer to a global audience. We’re making integrated plans with a number of parties to make sure that through content, art, and through culture we promote our country and develop our creative industries sector.

“So, from our country’s perspective, we've established our long-term plan – our Vision 2050. Based on that we have narrowed it down to a more immediate strategy, namely the ‘New Recovery’ Policy.

“These look into the problems and constraints that could stop our economy from developing further. I think one specific message we want to communicate from the Economic Forum is that we're open for business, we're open to working together, and we are looking for investors.

“We want investors to come in, we have projects available, and our government is open, transparent, and ready for cooperation. “