Representatives of JMC Projects India led by the company’s CEO & Managing Director Shailendra Kumar Tripathi visited Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC and became acquainted with the implementation of the Oil Refinery Project.

The construction of oil refinery will be consisted of four parts - engineering, procurement, and construction. In 2020, JMC Projects India has been selected as a general contractor in charge of the first phase of the oil refinery construction, specifically, the development of the refinery’s non-technological facilities and construction site infrastructure. The company will construct an administration building, warehouse, repair facility, fire safety, and first aid units, laboratory, and water supply system of the refinery which is planned to be commissioned in 2024.

At the meeting held during the visit, the sides exchanged information and views on the progress of the construction and issues that need to be resolved.

The oil refinery will consist of 12 main facilities, including seven facilities for processing oil. As of currently, agreements are being established with the selected US and Western European petrochemical concerns, reports Mongolia Refinery.

Op-Ed by the Ambassadors of the European Union and its 27 Member States, and the Ambassadors of Norway and the United Kingdom.

24 February 2022 will be marked in history books as the day when Russia brought war back to Europe. Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine grossly violates international law and the principles of the UN Charter and threatens world peace as well as European and global security and stability. It is inflicting unspeakable suffering on the Ukrainian population.

Russia has violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent State that did not pose any threat, and to which Russia had given guarantees of security in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Russia must immediately cease hostilities and withdraw its military from the territory of Ukraine. Such use of force and coercion has no place in the 21st century. This is not “Russia’s war against the West”; it is “President Putin’s war against international law and global peace”.

Words matter. This is called by Russia a Special military operation so that the military does not have to inform the families of fallen soldiers (though by now hundreds of mothers of soldiers know they lost a son in a senseless war). It is nothing but a premeditated invasion by Russia.

Russia, and its accomplice Belarus, bear full responsibility for this war of aggression and those responsible will be held to account for their crimes, including for indiscriminately targeting civilians and civilian objects. Cluster munitions and thermobaric weapons have been used by Russian forces against civilian population in violation of international law.

We commend the people of Ukraine for their courage in defending their country and our shared values of freedom and democracy. Just as Mongolia, Ukraine has chosen thirty years ago a path of democracy and open economy, and has every right to choose their own alliances. We will not leave them alone. The European Union and its Member States and partners will continue to provide coordinated political, financial, material and humanitarian support. We are committed to provide support for the reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine once the Russian onslaught has ceased. We are determined to increase even further our pressure on Russia and Belarus.

The Russian military aggression has created a humanitarian catastrophe resulting in the killing of civilians and in millions of displaced people and refugees. The European Union and its Member states and partners are providing humanitarian aid and civil protection assistance to all refugees from Ukraine including third country nationals. This is truly an all-European act of solidarity joined by members as well as non-members of the EU. Mongolian nationals themselves had to be evacuated in an emergency, with the help of the Government of Mongolia. We are committed to providing help to all those affected without discrimination.

We have adopted significant sanctions and remain ready to move quickly with further sanctions. Measures announced by the European Union have been very closely coordinated with partners and allies. Over forty countries have so far partially or completely aligned with our sanctions. This is testimony to the determination of the global community to reject this military aggression. The aim of the European Union sanctions is to undermine the capacity of President Putin’s regime to continue the war. Sanctions affect the Russian people, but they are not the target. This is a war decided by President Putin, not by the Russian people.

Stopping this aggression and addressing its negative impacts on security and the global economy requires a collective mobilisation as seen recently at the UN General Assembly. We are ready to work with Mongolia to sustain the international mobilisation to end this war.

Russia’s resorting to disinformation and gross manipulations of the facts is a weapon directed towards all of us. Mongolia is equally exposed. Its free and independent media has every possibility to provide the public with independently sourced information. Europe is mobilised to debunk Russian propaganda (EUvsDisinfo.eu).

The European Union is a responsible global actor and we will continue to engage actively with all countries/partners on issues such as the COVID pandemic, climate change, international connectivity, non-proliferation, crisis management, and other important bilateral and multilateral issues

The war of aggression that President Putin has started, will have an adverse impact on many countries in the world, particularly countries, like Mongolia, that are heavily dependent on imports of food, fertilisers and energy We are already coordinating our efforts with Mongolia’s authorities and businesses to avoid collateral damage of the war on the economy.

Let us be clear on one point: the negative impact on fuel prices, agricultural commodity prices, which we are seeing already, are the result from the Russian aggression and military activities on Ukrainian soil, not from European Union sanctions.

We call on Mongolia, as a respected member of the international community, a dedicated member of the United Nations for 60 years, and a full member of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to join us in our calls for an immediate ceasefire as an essential precondition to establish humanitarian corridors. These corridors must be unconditionally and be respected from all sides.

Stop this war. Freedom will prevail. We stand with Ukraine.

Russia will force Europe to start paying for gas supplies in rubles, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in televised remarks.

“I have decided to implement a set of measures to transfer payments for our gas supplies to unfriendly countries into Russian rubles,” Putin said, ordering the changes to be implemented within a week.

The measures are part of Russia’s response to the West’s unprecedented sanctions leveled on Moscow in response to the attack on Ukraine.

Russia deems all countries that have hit it with sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine as “unfriendly.”

Europe imports around 40% of its natural gas from Russia, with contracts typically priced in euros. Russia’s gas exports to “unfriendly” countries came in at around $50 billion in 2021, according to an estimate by Loko Invest.

“It doesn’t make sense to deliver our goods to the EU or U.S. and receive payments in dollars or euros,” Putin said in the meeting with government officials.

The move was met with pushback Wednesday evening from some of Russia's key gas customers, including Germany, Austria and Italy.

Berlin said Russia's demands constitute a breach of contract, while Vienna and Rome both said they would continue paying for Russian gas in euros, citing Moscow's attempt to skirt the impact of sanctions.

"The announcement of paying in rubles is ... a breach of the contract and we will now discuss with our European partners how we would react to that," said German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, whose country imported 55% of its natural gas from Russia before Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Analysts see Putin’s move as Moscow’s attempt to put pressure on Europe over its sanctions — or “turn the tables on the EU,” as Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist and sanctions expert at the Institute of International Finance, said.

In sanctions on Russia’s Central Bank, the West has frozen almost half of Russia’s international reserves — some $300 billion that Moscow had seen as its anti-sanctions insurance policy, huge funds that could be used should it be cut out of the financial system.

If Putin’s order is implemented, Europe would have to buy hundreds of millions of euros’ worth of rubles every day to pay for its substantial gas deliveries. From Russia’s perspective, that would provide an inflow of much-needed hard currency and boost demand for the beleaguered Russian currency.

But transactions could prove tricky for Europe as many Russian state banks, including the Central Bank itself, are under sanctions which prohibit direct transactions.

“He is basically trying to get Western countries who sanctioned the Central Bank to transact with it,” said analyst Timothy Ash. “But this will just make it more difficult to transact with Russia for energy supplies.”

The Russian ruble, whose value cratered in the wake of the sanctions, jumped on Putin’s announcement, strengthening by almost 4% against the U.S. dollar in trading in Moscow. Prices for gas in Europe rose 8%.

Russia is currently requiring exporters to sell 80% of their hard currency earnings — effectively using its extensive export earnings to replace the Central Bank’s frozen reserves and stop the Russian ruble from falling even further.

Maria Shagina, a visiting senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, branded the announcement an “unexpected turn from the Kremlin.”

“I tend to think this is another bluff. Receiving hard currency from hydrocarbons is much more important now than forcing all ‘unfriendly’ countries to purchase rubles,” she told the Moscow Times.

Some analysts also questioned whether switching the payment currency would be permitted under existing contracts signed between Gazprom, Russia’s monopoly gas exporter, and customers in Europe.

“The very tight gas market will force European customers to abide by this. There is a lack of alternatives: buy rubles or stay without Russian gas,” said Shagina.

Europe has come under heavy pressure to stop buying Russian oil and gas — a key source of income for the Russian economy — since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Moscow has also sought to use energy prices to pressure Europe, with several politicians, including Putin himself, saying Western sanctions have created a cost of living crisis in the West by way of soaring energy prices.

AFP contribued reporting.

Today (24 March), Mongolia’s central bank has lifted the country’s key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 9 % in a desperate move to halt the home currency’s decline amid Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Four days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the governor of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM), B.Lhagvasuren, told reporters that the national lender boasted USD 4.3 billion in reserves as of the start of 2022, and that the reserves were more than enough to cover seven to eight months. Yet there have been instances of bank customers blocked from making foreign payments of more than MNT 4 million (less than USD 1,700) and prevented from obtaining more than USD 1,000 per day.

Customers were informed by their banks that the central bank had set limits on foreign exchange transactions. However, the BoM suggested that individuals banks may have set their own limits on the amount of dollars that can be withdrawn, taking account of their internal reserves.

The Ukraine crisis is putting Mongolia’s economy to crisis. Inflation has hovered around 13 percent since January and in February it topped 14 percent. Since the start of the Ukraine war, the Mongolian Tugrik has dramatically fell against US Dollar from USD 2,842 to USD 3100.

Mongolia reported 55 new cases of COVID-19 infection, including 45 in Ulaanbaatar and 10 in regions, the Health Ministry said on March 24.

93 hospital patients are in mild condition, 253 are in moderate condition, 57 are in serious condition and 19 are in very serious condition.

No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported in the country during the past day. The death toll stands at 2,108.

The Cabinet discussed how the Russia-Ukraine crisis has been affecting Mongolia's economy at its regular meeting on March 23, reported Minister of Finance B.Javkhlan.

“At each of the Cabinet meetings, corresponding ministries have been presenting possible ways to keep the negative effect caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict at a minimum. Sanctions that have been imposed against Russia are also indirectly affecting the situation in our country to a certain extent.

As it may affect our economy through several channels, the first issue at hand is foreign trade. Petroleum makes up 75 percent of the products being imported from Russia.

Rosneft is currently supplying petroleum products according to the agreement. From our side, importers have been making their payments without any issue. As USD 180 million worth of petroleum has been purchased since February 24, we will put in efforts into continuing to keep this amount.

In terms of foreign policy, Mongolia continues to keep the same stance as when we voted to abstain during the recent UN resolution.

Furthermore, the policy on maintaining foreign exchange reserves and supporting exports will continue to be implemented."

At a regular meeting of the Cabinet on March 23, Minister of Health S.Enkhbold did a presentation on the preparations underway for the works to be carried out to involve citizens in early-detection checkups from May 1.

Adults will be involved in 19 types of medical checkups.

The medical checkups that are being planned include the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and tuberculosis, assessment of mental and general physical health, blood and urine tests, glucose, pap smear, hepatitis B and C, rapid tests for syphilis and HIV, electrocardiogram, endoscopy, gastroscopy, and ultrasound tests for the chest and abdominal areas as well as thyroid.

As for children up to the age of 18, they will be involved in six types of medical checkups. This will include diagnosis of non-infectious diseases, mental health assessment, dental checkup, eye exam, and tuberculosis test.

While an average of MNT 11.2-12.3 million is spent for the treatment of a single patient, it is estimated that costs are able to be significantly saved by annually involving citizens in MNT 150 thousand worth of tests and diagnosis.

The iron ore price rose on Wednesday despite the decision by top steelmaking city Tangshan to implement a temporary lockdown.

The Tangshan government implemented the lockdown on Tuesday to avoid further cases of covid-19 as infections surged, the local government said in a statement.

“Although consumption for steel products are relatively sluggish, production is also falling,” analysts with Huatai Futures wrote in a note.

The situation of tight raw materials inventories has not been reversed yet, which could further sustain steel prices, analysts added.

According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $145.49 a tonne on Wednesday, up 1.4% compared to Tuesday’s closing.

Steelmaking ingredients on the Dalian Commodity Exchange were mixed after falling more than 3% during the night session, with benchmark iron ore edging up 0.4% to 823 yuan a tonne.

“Due to transportation disruptions, most steel mills face raw material shortages … and there’s even possibility for production halt,” said Huatai Futures, noting that iron ore demand will be dampened.

($1 = 6.3743 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(With files from Reuters)

The economic ramifications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the West's imposition of heavy sanctions on Moscow in response to it are starting to unsettle Mongolia.

Four days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the governor of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM), Lhagvasuren Byadran, told reporters that the national lender boasted $4.3bn in reserves as of the start of 2022, and that the reserves were more than enough to cover seven to eight months. Yet there have been instances of bank customers blocked from making foreign payments of more than Mongolian tughrik (MNT) 4mn (less than $1,700) and prevented from obtaining more than $1,000 per day.

Customers were informed by their banks that the central bank had set limits on foreign exchange transactions. However, on March 21, BoM provided a statement to Ikon, a local news agency, in which it said that there was no limit placed on FX. It stated: "The Bank of Mongolia has not imposed any limits on foreign exchange transactions. It is misleading for the managers of these banks to convince their clients that the Bank of Mongolia has placed such limits. The Bank of Mongolia will send a warning to the banks that have decided to restrict foreign exchange."

BoM suggested that individuals banks may have set their own limits on the amount of dollars that can be withdrawn, taking account of their internal reserves.

Whatever the facts here, there is no doubt that the Ukraine crisis is putting Mongolia's economy to the test. Inflation has hovered around 13% since January and in February it topped 14%. The central bank said in early January that inflation would move down as soon as exports picked up again, but China’s strict “zero-covid” policy continues to make it difficult for Mongolia to ship minerals and coking coal to its giant neighbour, putting a big dent in the country's economic performance.

Since the start of the Ukraine war, the MNT has dramatically depreciated from 2,842 to the USD to 2,910. Given global price hikes, the central bank is now examining the next step it could take to ensure that the national currency does not depreciate further. It remains adamant that it does not want to deploy reserves to strengthen the tughrik. But the situation is worsening. Some FX outlets have stopped selling dollars or are selling for at least MNT 3,100.

There are also tales of people swapping huge sums of rubles for USD.

At a press conference called to address public anxiety over inflationary pressures, Lhagvasuren said: “Uncertainty has arisen in the economy. In 2021, the balance of payments showed a deficit of $220mn. This year we started out in the first month with a $500mn deficit. This was due to a growth of imports, post-Covid economic growth. And with this war it is certain that the balance of payments will be in deficit by the end of the year.”

After the conflict broke out, and Russia's ruble sank in the face of the sanctions response, some Mongolian economists called for the exchange of rubles to be stopped, but BoM did not issue an ordinance. The central bank, though, has made it clear that the exchange of rubles in the country has increased since the invasion. It said: "If we look at the average amount of ruble transactions from 2019 to the present, a maximum of $30mn in rubles has been used for payments and exchanges in the country [on a monthly basis]. A total of $92mn worth of ruble transactions were made from the beginning of this year till March 18. Also within this time, the amount of rubles purchased amounted to $4.2mn. This shows that the amount of rubles bought by banks on the domestic market is much lower than the amount sold."

To preserve the reserves, BoM is working on limitations—one restriction could see limits placed on the importing of luxury goods including cars—and will monitor certain transactions. “Only by supporting exports will we be able to have certain foreign exchange reserves. Steps need to be taken to bring mining products to the market. At today's auction, banks applied for $162mn, but we submitted $50mn,” the central bank noted on March 22.

Banks, the central bank said, used to send in information on FX payments once a month. “However,” Lhagvasuren added, “we now receive daily information on any transactions worth more than $50,000, to exercise control over the purposes for which [hard] currency is transacted to abroad. A contingency plan is required if the MNT continues to depreciate."

Lhagvasuren also suggested that for Mongolia to maintain steady economic progress, the government must postpone some of its objectives. “Some of the state budget investment needs to be postponed this year,” he said. “There is a need to reduce costs that can't be borne, [such as with] construction work that has not yet been commissioned.”

BY Anand Tumurtogoo in Ulaanbaatar