Last week in East Asia, several top North Korean officials were demoted after being held responsible for the country’s “great crisis” — related to the failure to respond to the coronavirus pandemic (The New York Times, 29 June 2021). In South Korea, the parliament passed a resolution demanding that Japan consult neighboring countries regarding the disposal of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Meanwhile, in South Korea, police intervened to disperse protesters opposing an anti-missile defense system amid increasing tensions. Protests were held in Mongolia over wage increases for health workers and the government’s plan to hold a national festival amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections. Lastly, the Communist Party of China (CPC) held celebrations for its 100th anniversary on 1 July, while pro-democracy rallies held annually on the same day in Hong Kong were muted amid heavy police deployment.

In North Korea, several senior officials were replaced during a meeting of the Politburo, convened by leader Kim Jong Un last week for failures related to the implementation of COVID-19 measures (The New York Times, 29 June 2021). Among those demoted are two Korean People’s Army Marshals believed to be close confidants of the leader (NK News, 1 July 2021). Kim accused the officials of creating a “great crisis” by neglecting their duties (Reuters, 30 June 2021). While it is unclear what constitutes the crisis, experts assume that it may refer to an outbreak of COVID-19 infections or severe food shortages (NK News, 1 July 2021; Reuters, 30 June 2021). Although North Korean authorities officially claim that the country is free of COVID-19, experts are skeptical (The New York Times, 29 June 2021). Strict restrictions implemented by authorities to contain the spread of COVID-19 — including closing the border with its main trade partner, China — have contributed to severe food shortages in the country (Foreign Policy, 11 June 2021). Recent reports indicate that soldiers have engaged in theft and other criminal activities amid food shortages and orders to release military grain rations to the civilian population (NK News, 1 July 2021; Daily NK, 2 July 2021).

In South Korea, the National Assembly adopted a resolution last week condemning Japan’s unilateral decision to release treated contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean (The Korea Times, 29 June 2021). The resolution demands that Japan consult neighboring countries on the method chosen to treat the radioactive water. ACLED records over 100 demonstration events against the release plan across South Korea since Japan announced the decision on 13 April. Relations between South Korea and Japan remain strained over issues, including historical and territorial disagreements.

Also in South Korea, police dispersed residents and activists protesting the transport of materials into a military base in Seongju last week (Segye Ilbo, 1 July 2021; Seoul Shinmun, 29 June 2021). Demonstrators oppose the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile defense system established at the Seongju military base in May 2020, citing environmental and safety concerns. ACLED records an increase in the number of events related to this issue over the past two months. Regular demonstrations at the THAAD battery in Seongju often involve police interventions or clashes between police and activists. Such violence is unusual in South Korea, where demonstrations are largely peaceful.

In Mongolia, several protest events took place last week in the capital, triggered by the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country. Health workers demand the government double their salaries to reach the country’s average wage, as the pandemic has caused a significant increase in their workload (Ikon.mn, 2 July 2021). Meanwhile, business owners and youth groups protested, demanding the government cancel celebrations of the national festival ‘Naadam’ amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and to support businesses instead (BBC, 6 July 2021). On the other hand, horse trainers and horse riding fans demand the government allow ‘Naadam’ celebrations to keep the tradition alive (News.mn, 2 July 2021). ‘Naadam’ is a national festival celebrated every year from 11 to 13 July across Mongolia that focuses on traditional games such as horse racing, wrestling, and archery.

In China, the CPC celebrated its centenary on 1 July with an elaborate ceremony in Tiananmen Square. President Xi Jinping delivered a defiant speech aimed at China’s detractors, expressing China’s commitment to ensure “social stability” in Macau and Hong Kong, and reunification with Taiwan (BBC, 2 July 2021; Nikkei Asia, 1 July 2021). 1 July also marks the anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, traditionally commemorated by pro-democracy activists in the form of mass rallies. However, this year, authorities banned the annual pro-democracy rallies for the second consecutive year, citing COVID-19 restrictions (HKFP, 28 June 2021). Despite the deployment of a reported 10,000 police officers to prevent unauthorized protests, four members of the League of Social Democrats staged a protest march to the site of the annual handover flag-raising ceremony, calling for the release of political prisoners (AP, 2 July 2021).

The Central Bank of Mongolia, also known as the Bank of Mongolia, has successfully completed a national project to migrate its entire payments infrastructure to Compass Plus solutions.

Due to increasing transaction volumes, the bank needed a scalable, reliable, and trusted solution that could service large volumes of transactions, as well as a vendor that could provide the bank with the support they required.

The project went live at the end of April after the final Mongolian bank was successfully connected to the new system. The introduction of the new system for the Bank of Mongolia will increase the availability of services the bank is able to provide its customers and improve the quality of customer service. It will also enable the bank to launch new products and services to market much quicker than it previously could due to the increased speed of integration with commercial banks in Mongolia.

As the Central Bank, the Bank of Mongolia’s main objective is to maintain the stability of the national currency, financial markets and banking system in the country. It chose Compass Plus solutions to transform its infrastructure due to the company’s outstanding reputation in Mongolia as a reliable and trusted partner.

“The successful launch of a new payment card system will ensure the reliability of a whole payment system infrastructure, thus will improve the confidence to the payment card network and boost the usage of various payment means,” commented Anar Enkhbold, Director of Payment Systems Department at the Central Bank of Mongolia.

“This is a significant project for Compass Plus. With 80% of Mongolian banks already running on Compass Plus software, it is fantastic that the Central Bank of Mongolia has chosen to partner with us as part of its transformation project,” said Denis Romanov, Senior Sales and Account Manager at Compass Plus. “The majority of the project was carried out remotely due to various COVID restrictions, but through joint efforts with the bank, we were able to ensure the entire migration process was smooth and were able to go live on time.”

On July 6, the Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a technical meeting on potential pilots for employment promotion with scope of scaling up and support of policy as part of the larger project on SDG-Aligned Budgeting to Transform Employment in Mongolia funded by the European Union.

The technical meeting was held online with the participation of over 60 stakeholders representing the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MOFALI), Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP), Khovd, Zavkhan, Tuv and Uvurkhangai aimags, the European Union, UN Development Program (UNDP), FAO, International Labor Organization, private entities in meat, dairy and vegetable sectors and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions. The meeting aimed at maintaining effective public-private partnerships with large scale youth employment potential in agriculture value chains and exploring possible ways to build competitive national Mongolian food brands in national and international markets.

H.E. Mr. Traian Hristea, Ambassador of the European Union to Mongolia opened the meeting and highlighted “The European Union is working together with the Government and our international partners to improve skills for employability especially for youth in the agriculture sector, to promote decent work and formal employment in the non-mining sector in Mongolia, with the aim to strengthen economic diversification.”

Mr. Vinod Ahuja, FAO Representative in Mongolia emphasized the importance of the project to address the challenges faced in the agricultural value chains by promoting effective public-private partnership in areas with large-scale potential for youth employment and training. More specifically, the project will (i) provide scope for incubating new entrepreneurship ideas in food and agribusiness sector, and (ii) explore untapped potentials of agriculture sector by building and improving competitive national Mongolian food brands to create more jobs for young people. Results from these activities would contribute to policy and program development at national level apart from expanding opportunities and increasing worker productivity

Ms. Elaine, UNDP Representative in Mongolia remarked during the opening “With the united efforts of the project, we will be able to promote decent employment in agriculture sector, train or retrain unemployed and jobseekers to choose agriculture as employment path while diversifying the economy with good demonstration of value chains in the sector. The pilots of the project is the core building blocks of this technical assistance project which is expected to greatly impact scaling up and enhancing services for linking local cooperatives, partnerships, and other businesses with markets and linking producers with the network of manufacturers, sellers/distributors and suppliers, addressing labour market gaps”.

This is part of the larger European Union funded (EU) technical assistance project (EUR 7.4 million) titled “SDG aligned budgeting to transform employment in Mongolia” that will be jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as technical lead, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). This larger project is complementary to the first-ever Budget Support Programme in Employment Reforms that the European Union has signed with the Government and implementing in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, with an EU grant of EUR 50.8 million.

The Government of Mongolia and the United Nations jointly convened a National Dialogue on Food Systems in Mongolia on 8 July 2021. Bringing together key players in the food systems in Mongolia, the Dialogue facilitated an open discussion on what it takes for Mongolia to sustainably transform its food systems that will accelerate a progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Evidence, ideas, and commitments gained at the National Food Systems Dialogue in Mongolia will not only contribute to the Global Food Systems Summit to be convened by the UN Secretary-General in September 2021, but, most importantly, they will help Mongolia itself to unleash new actions and innovative solutions and strategies to rebuild the national food systems and leverage the shifts to deliver progress across all Sustainable Development Goals.

H.E Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, the Prime Minister of Mongolia, sincerely thanked the participants of the National Dialogue on Sustainable Food Systems in Mongolia and stated: “Issues related to the food and health systems need to be addressed comprehensively. Creating sustainable food systems will not only improve human development and quality of life, but also make a significant contribution to the country's sustainable social and economic development. Having established sustainable food systems, Mongolia will achieve its goal of becoming a food exporter. In addition to mining, Mongolia has identified agriculture, tourism, energy, transportation and logistics as priority sectors. Therefore, the multi-stakeholder participation, including private sector and civil society organizations, and cross-sectoral collaborations are crucial. The government will provide all the necessary support to promote such engagement and cooperation.”

“Mongolia has a significant potential to transition to sustainable food systems, that is already underway,” said UN Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra at the Dialogue.

“This would require technological innovation, strategic use of economic incentives, cohesive and participatory governance, and behavioural changes. Most importantly, these reforms must contribute to resilient livelihoods and healthy and nutritious diets of all Mongolian.”

If Mongolia is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, its food systems must change.

“We need to rapidly rethink how we produce, process, market and consume our food, and dispose our waste. We should turn the COVID-19 crisis into the opportunity to rebalance and transform the food systems in Mongolia making them more inclusive, sustainable and resilient,” said FAO Representative in Mongolia Vinod Ahuja.

Leading up to this National dialogue, the food sector experts, stakeholders, domestic and international organizations, partners have convened total of 11 dialogues involving regional, municipal, private sector, independent farmers cooperatives, youth and civil society dialogues to hear their voices and concerns of all parties in the transformation of food systems.

These Food Systems Dialogues gave Mongolia an opportunity to address the current state of the food systems in the country, including challenges and opportunities and agree on actions and solutions to build a sustainable food systems in the next 10 years and what can be done in the next 3-5 years.

The National Dialogue, therefore, discussed the following key thematic areas in the food systems:

access to safe and nutritious food and promotion of sustainable consumption

advance equitable livelihoods and value distribution

boost nature-positive production and build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress.

Consolidated outcomes and policy recommendations from the pre-dialogue discussions by the experts and key players were presented to the high-level dialogue among the policy and decision makers to stimulate further discussion for appropriate actions and solutions on the second day of the event.

The final outcomes of the National Dialogue on Food Systems will be presented to the UN Food Systems Summit in September by the Government of Mongolia.

Full video of the National Dialogues is available: https://fb.watch/v/141x7J9Fz/

To learn more about the Food Systems, visit: https://mongolia.un.org/.../131976-beyond-pandemic...

A unified postal code system has been established in the framework of the E-Mongolia national program being implemented by the Government of Mongolia.

With the program’s implementation, a unified postal code system is being introduced in order to have each street, area, organization, and household have its own corresponding address. Furthermore, works are currently being carried out in aims of further developing the mail delivery system at all levels. In connection with the amendments made to the Law on Post in 2019, postal zones began to be referred to as ‘postal code’ instead of ‘ZIP code’.

Alongside creating favorable conditions for mail to be quickly delivered, the introduction of a unified postal code system also makes it easier for citizens to be provided with public emergency services as well as government services such as registration, social insurance, and matters relating to tax.

Over 20 thousand locations have been assigned with postal codes in the spatial database of the Urban Development Department of the Capital City in the past year. Information regarding the new postal codes are available on the website www.zipcode.mn.

Head of the Fire Department at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), colonel Ts.Nyambayar recently went on a working trip to the countries of France and Belarus.

During the working trip, he visited Desautel Group’s factory based in Niévroz in Lyon, France, and held a meeting with engineers in charge of the manufacturing of vehicles. He also became acquainted with the operations of the factory, its processes, and the vehicles and parts currently being manufactured.

Furthermore, final inspections were carried out for the 21 firetrucks to be supplied to Mongolia in August and September this year. The sides then discussed issues that may arise as the vehicles are operated as well as adapting them more to the weather conditions of Mongolia.

The NEMA official also visited the Belarusian company, ‘Pozhsnab’, based in Borisov, Belarus. He held a meeting with the company’s Chairman of Board of Directors Oleg Deriabin, Deputy Director Sergey Zaharevich, and corresponding experts.

After becoming acquainted with the factory’s operations as well as the parts and equipment manufactured by the company, he exchanged views on cooperation and opportunities to implement a second phase for the project.

Petro Matad Ltd. shares jumped on Wednesday morning after the company said it has been awarded an exploitation license for the Block XX in Mongolia.

The Mongolia-focused oil company said the license runs for 25 years and includes the producing Toson Uul basin.

Petro Matad said it will now resume talks with potential farm-in partners and review funding options for the next stage of development. The development plan will concentrate initially on the reserves around the Heron 1 well, it said.

Shares at 0726 GMT were up 26% at 8.05 pence.

Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com; @JaimeLlinaresT

Power outages have been reported in parts of Central Mongolia, including Ulaanbaatar, as of late July 7. The outages are due to damage to the transmission line running between Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet. Cellular networks are disrupted due to the outage. Officials are working to resolve the disruptions.

Temporary commercial and communications disruptions, including cellular services, are possible during power outages. Traffic disruptions and longer driving times may occur during these periods due to malfunctioning traffic signals. Power outages could also result in the temporary unavailability of essential services such as ATMs and petrol stations.

There is an increased security risk as a result of power outages. Electricity disruptions could adversely affect security protocols, including alarm systems and electronic fences; opportunistic criminal activity could increase during electricity outages, particularly after dark.

Advice

Charge all communication and portable electronic devices when possible. Unplug electronic equipment that is not connected to surge protectors. Exercise caution when driving in areas affected by power outages. Ensure that generators are functional if operating in affected areas. Confirm business appointments. Verify that security systems are working, including after power resumes. Follow all security personnel instructions.

In order to increase the participation of foreign investors into domestic market, Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE) is taking a series of measures to promote the market, introduce international standards and to be included in international category.

Within the framework of this measure, MSE has started working with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the top 5 stock exchanges in the world, and successfully organized an open webinar called ‘Mongolian Capital Market Day’ on June 30, 2021.

During the opening speech, Fu Hao, Vice President of International Business at Shanghai Stock Exchange, said: ‘Mongolia and China are close neighbors with close trade and economic ties, but this event was organized for the first time to bring together stock market organizations and experts. This event will be a historic event to lay the foundation for further cooperation between the two market, and result will be important to introduce the wide range of investment opportunities to the Chinese investors in the Mongolia capital market’.

This event was attended by more than 50 representatives of Shanghai-based investment funds and brokerage companies. Representative of Mongolian Stock Exchange, Hannes Takach, Resident Representative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Mongolia and Dennis Bay, CEO of ‘Rhinos Investment UTsK’ LLC participated and introduced the current state, opportunities and future development of Mongolian economy and capital market.

In addition, representatives of Khan Bank and Trade Development Bank, that intend to conduct IPOs in accordance with the Banking law in next year, participated in the event and introduced their business activities. ‘Investor NBFI’ JSC and "Mandal Asset Management JSC" LLC, which are issuing new securities, introduced their new securities.

The Mongolian Stock Exchange is working with the London Stock Exchange, a strategic partner, to organize the next such event for London-based investors in September 2021.

Source: mse.mn

A huge container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March - disrupting global trade - is finally leaving the waterway after Egypt signed a compensation deal with its owners and insurers.

Witnesses say the Ever Given weighed anchor shortly after 11:30 local time (09:30 GMT) and headed north towards the Mediterranean escorted by tugs.

The ship has been impounded for three months near the canal city of Ismailia.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Egypt had demanded $550m (£397m).

The 193km (120-mile) Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea at the canal's northern end to the Red Sea in the south and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

But the vital waterway was blocked when the 400m-long (1,312ft) Ever Given became wedged across it after running aground amid high winds. Global trade was disrupted as hundreds of ships were stuck in the traffic jam.

The container ship was refloated following a six-day salvage operation that involved a flotilla of tug boats and dredging vessels. One person was killed during the operation.

A handout satellite image made available by Maxar Technologies shows the excavation and dredging operations around the Ever Given on 28 March 2021

Since then, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has been seeking compensation from the Ever Given's Japanese owner Shoei Kisen for the cost of the salvage operation, damage to the canal's banks and other losses.

The SCA initially asked for $916m compensation, including $300m for a salvage bonus and $300m for loss of reputation. But UK Club - which insured Shoei Kisen for third-party liabilities - rejected the claim, describing it as "extraordinarily large" and "largely unsupported".

media captionThe stranded container ship is seen finally on the move and no longer blocking the canal

The SCA later lowered its demand to $550m. The final settlement, which has not been revealed, was agreed a few days ago and signed on Wednesday to coincide with the ship's release.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, SCA lawyer Khalid Abubakr said the authority was committed to keeping the terms of the agreement confidential.

In a recorded message broadcast at the event, Yukito Higaki of Imabari shipbuilding, of which Shoei Kisen is a subsidiary, said the company would continue to be "a regular and loyal customer" of the Suez Canal Authority.

The vessel, with an Indian crew, is still loaded with about 18,300 containers. It is due to undergo safety checks at Port Said before sailing to Rotterdam in the Netherlands and then to the UK port of Felixstowe where it will offload its containers, the Wall Street Journal reported.