Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene has ordered the country's Finance Minister Bold Javkhlan to spend at least 420 billion Mongolian Tugriks (147 million U.S. dollars) annually in 2022-2024 to reduce traffic congestion in the capital, the government's press office said Wednesday.

For many years, traffic congestion has been one of the most pressing issues in Ulan Bator, which is home to around half of the country's 3.3 million population.

The average speed on roads in Ulan Bator is now 13 km/h, and the average driving speed during peak hours is 8.9 km/h, according to data released by the municipal government of the capital city.

It was estimated that residents of the city spend an average of 2.5 hours a day stuck in traffic.

China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia is calling for more comprehensive reporting of cryptocurrency mining, signalling a strong determination to weed out power-consuming activities in the region.

The move comes as the country’s financial regulators have expressed growing concerns over the risks stemming from volatile cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin. And Beijing’s growing distrust over these popular digital assets could pave the way for a broader clampdown on digital mining.

“This is to fully play the role of public supervision,” says a notice released this week by the region’s economic planning agency, which included telephone numbers and email addresses for people to report instances of digital currency being mined.

Inner Mongolia had suspended such mining projects before this month.

The agency listed four crackdown targets: mining enterprises; miners disguising themselves as data centres and accordingly receiving preferential treatment in tax, land and power tariffs; landlords housing mining activities; and those utilising power supplies illegally.

Cryptocurrency mining requires massive amounts of electricity to run the large computer server arrays needed to do the complex calculations required for cryptocurrency transactions, as well as for air conditioning to cool the data centres, so operations have long been attracted to areas such as Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Xinjiang due to low electricity prices.

Inner Mongolia, which is also the country’s second-largest coal producer, is under mounting pressure to meet its energy-saving targets. Meanwhile, a number of thermal power plants in the region have been constrained by the nation’s carbon-neutrality goals. China wants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 65 per cent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels, and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The National Development and Reform Commission has said that China’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product must be lowered by 13.5 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, by 2025. No provincial breakdowns have been revealed yet, but Inner Mongolia aims to reduce its energy intensity by 3 per cent in 2021 while capping its energy consumption growth at 1.9 per cent.

China’s leadership has attached great importance to such endeavours. Speaking at a seminar on Tuesday, Vice-Premier Han Zheng said strict controls must be imposed to curb energy consumption and high-emission projects.

These types of strict energy-saving initiatives are among the strong headwinds that cryptocurrency faces in China. Initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency trading are also banned.

Li Bo, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said at the Boao Forum in Hainan province last month that bitcoin was just an alternative investment, rather than currency, and that authorities were studying how to regulate it.

Meanwhile, the central bank has accelerated the pilot programme for its sovereign digital currency nationwide, as China moves further towards being a cashless society.

On Tuesday, three semi-official financial associations – the National Internet Finance Association of China; the China Banking Association; and the Payment and Clearing Association of China – told their members to steer clear of any cryptocurrency-related financing activities while also warning the public that cryptocurrencies are “not supported by intrinsic value”, and that their prices are “easily manipulated”.

Some banks, including China Citic Bank, had already barred users from trading bitcoin via their bank accounts from last month.

Bitcoin fell to a three-month low on Wednesday, dropping below US$40,000, while ethereum continued its gradual decline in recent days, falling below US$3,000.

By playing off its big neighbors, Russia and China, Mongolia has emerged as a positive outlier among developing nations on the hunt for shots.

Mongolia, a country of grassy hills, vast deserts and endless skies, has a population not much bigger than Chicago’s. The small democratic nation is used to living in the shadow of its powerful neighbors, Russia and China.

But during a pandemic, being a small nation sandwiched between two vaccine makers with global ambitions can have advantages.

At a time when most countries are scrambling for coronavirus vaccines, Mongolia now has enough to fully vaccinate its entire adult population, in large part thanks to deals with both China and Russia. Officials are so confident about the nation’s vaccine riches that they are promising citizens a “Covid-free summer.”

Mongolia’s success in procuring the vaccines in the span of a few months is a big victory for a low-income, developing nation. Many poor countries have been waiting in line for shots, hoping for the best. But Mongolia, using its status as a small geopolitical player between Russia and China, was able to snap up doses at a clip similar to that of much wealthier countries.

“It speaks to the Mongolian ability to play to the two great powers and maximize their benefits even while they are on this tightrope between these two countries,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels.

It is also a win for China and Russia, which have extensive resource interests in Mongolia and ambitions to appear to play a role in ending the pandemic, even when much of the world has expressed deep skepticism over their homegrown vaccines.

Mongolia is a buffer between eastern Russia, which is resource rich and mostly unpopulated, and China, which is crowded and hungry for resources. While Russia and China are often aligned on the global stage, they have a history of conflict and are wary of each others’ interests in Mongolia. Those suspicions can be seen in their vaccine diplomacy.

“Putin is deeply concerned about what China is doing in their neighborhood,” Ms. Fallon said of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.

Russia has sold Mongolia one million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine. China has provided four million doses of vaccine — the final shipment of doses arrived this week. Mongolia’s most recent agreement with China’s Sinopharm Group, which is state-owned, was made days before the company received emergency authorization from the World Health Organization.

Mongolia was late to the global clamber for Covid-19 vaccines. For nearly a year officials boasted that there were no local cases. Then came an outbreak in November. Two months later, political crisis precipitated by the mishandling of the virus led to the sudden resignation of the prime minister. The prospect of continued coronavirus restrictions threatened to throw the country into further political turmoil.

The new prime minister, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, pledged to restart the economy, which had suffered from lockdowns and border closures, particularly in the south, where Mongolian truck drivers ferry coal across the border to China’s steel mills. But these plans were complicated by surging cases, with the daily count going from hundreds a day to thousands.

“We were quite desperate,” said Bolormaa Enkhbat, an economic and development policy adviser to Mr. Luvsannamsrai.

Mongolia approached China and Russia first, the foreign minister said, hoping longstanding economic ties with each country would help move it to the front of the line of countries seeking vaccines. Officials simultaneously explored diplomatic and private channels — putting in requests for donations from rich countries and the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturers.

They contacted price-gouging middlemen, international health organizations and vaccine alliances for poorer countries. One intermediary offered to sell Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for $120 a shot, nearly a quarter of the average monthly salary, Ms. Enkhbat said. Covax, the global vaccine-sharing alliance, which Mongolia signed onto in July 2020, promised doses in the fall or winter.

In early February, Mongolia approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Three days later, China’s Sinopharm Group received approval for its Vero Cell vaccine. Soon after, China donated 300,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine to Mongolia, citing a “profound traditional friendship” as motivation.

Opening up more of the border between China and Mongolia was also a part of the vaccine discussions, Chinese and Mongolian officials said in Chinese state media. Mongolia needs China to buy its coal — exports to the country make up nearly a quarter of Mongolia’s annual economic growth. The revenues helped to pad Mongolia’s budget by a quarter last year.

After a month of back and forth, the Mongolian government struck a deal in March with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, too, for one million doses of the Sputnik vaccine. Days later, Mongolia finalized an agreement to buy 330,000 additional doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

When there was a last-minute hitch in the delivery of the purchased Chinese vaccines, a call on April 7 between China’s premier, Li Keqiang, and Mongolia’s prime minister, Mr. Luvsannamsrai, helped to smooth things over and reassure both sides. Up to that point, it was still unclear if Mongolia would be able to rely on China or if it would need to return to Russia for more vaccines.

“That’s what paved the way for the rest of the deal,” Ms. Enkhbat said about the phone call, Mr. Luvsannamsrai’s first with Mr. Li. “We laid out the situation and said that we are betting on Chinese vaccines at a time when the rest of the world fully isn’t.”

Mongolia has also secured commitments from AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. So far it has received only 60,000 of the Sputnik vaccine because of manufacturing delays. But the Chinese vaccine will account for a majority of Covid-19 shots for Mongolia’s population.

“We are thankful to our partners, especially China, that they are providing us with vaccinations when they also need it for domestic use,” said Battsetseg Batmunkh, Mongolia’s foreign minister.

The Chinese and Russian embassies in Mongolia did not respond to requests for comment.

In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, 97 percent of the adult population has received a first dose and more than half are fully vaccinated, according to government statistics. Across the country, more than three quarters of Mongolians have already received one shot.

The country’s vaccination effort still faces hurdles. Mongolia is economically dependent on China, and many of its citizens continue to fear its power and influence. When tensions have arisen in the past, China has shut its border and stopped purchasing Mongolian coal.

Mongolians have also expressed a preference for Russia’s Sputnik vaccine. To get the population to take the Sinopharm shot, the government has offered each citizen 50,000 tugriks — about $18 — to get fully vaccinated. The average monthly salary in 2020 was $460.

The terms and pricing of the Sinopharm and Sputnik deals were not made public, and Mongolia’s foreign ministry declined to comment on pricing. Representatives for the Gamaleya Research Institute and Sinopharm did not respond to requests for comment.

While some global health experts have questioned whether Sinopharm will be able to continue to deliver on its commitments overseas, it has delivered all of the doses Mongolia ordered. China has said it can make as many as five billion doses by the end of the year, though officials have warned that the country is struggling to make enough shots for its citizens.

There are also some signs that governments that have chosen the Sinopharm vaccine may have to roll out a third booster shot sooner than expected.

China, for its part, may be playing a long game, said Julian Dierkes, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia who specializes in Mongolian politics. Though many Mongolians may still not trust China, the Mongolian government will remember how it made its vaccines available at a critical moment.

“We could coin a phrase here: ‘The opportunity of smallness,’” he said.

By Alexandra Stevenson

Chair of the Parliamentary Group of the State Great Hural for relations with the European Parliament, MP Mrs.Ts.Munkhtsetseg, and Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Central Asia and Mongolia (DCAS), MEP Mr. F.Martuschello held a virtual courtesy meeting on May 18, 2021. The meeting was also attended by H.E. Mr. O. Och, Ambassador of the Mission of Mongolia to the European Union, H.E. Mr. T.Hristea, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Mongolia, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the EU Delegation to Mongolia.

During the meeting, the two sides noted with satisfaction the expanding cooperation and relationship between Mongolia and the European Union and exchanged views about future cooperation, the establishment of an EU-Mongolian Committee in the European Parliament and the organization of the annual inter-parliamentary consultation meeting, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

Member of Parliament Ts. Munkhtsetseg briefed about the results of the measures taken by the Government of Mongolia to prevent and control the spread of the pandemic, the vaccination campaign progress and the Government’s comprehensive plan of 10 trillion MNT aimed for economic recovery and health protection. MP Munkhtsetseg also emphasized the importance given to the cooperation and relationship with the EU and its member states under Mongolia’s “third neighbour” foreign policy. Hence, pointing the crucial role of establishing an EU-Mongolia Cooperation Committee in the European Parliament to provide parliamentary scrutiny of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to enhance further cooperation in relevant mutual interests.

MP Mrs. Munkhtsetsetseg also pointed out that the Law on the Legal Status of Human Rights Defenders has been adopted in Mongolia. Taking the opportunity, Mrs. Munkhtsetsetseg expressed the wish that once the pandemic situation is mitigated, Mongolia would be happy to host the 14th Inter-Parliamentary meeting between the State Great Hural and the European Parliament in Ulaanbaatar. Mr. Fulvio Martuschiello, Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Central Asia and Mongolia, reaffirmed his commitment to expand cooperation between the EU and Mongolia and discussed about the possibility of holding the 14th Inter-Parliamentary Consultation meeting in November 2021.

At the end of the meeting, Ambassador T. Hristea noted that the cooperation between the EU and Mongolia has been actively expanding in many fields over the past years and underlined that the EU multi-annual indicative programme for Mongolia for the year of 2021-2027 would continue with at the same level of commitment from the EU in line with Mongolia’s long-term development policy Vision 2050.

Source: mfa.gov.mn

In connection with starting the operations of the Chinggis Khaan International Airport located in Khushig Valley from July 1, detailed inspection is being carried out on the airport’s fueling facility.

Safely fueling the aircraft is considered as one of the priority matters for flight safety. The airport’s fuel facility has 4 containers with a capacity of 2,000 cubic meters, and an aviation fuel hydrant system at 6 parking areas of the terminal. The hydrant system has a capacity of pumping 1,000 gallons or 3,780 liters of fuel per minute and simultaneously fueling 3 aircraft.

Thus, in the framework of the preparations being carried out to launch the operations of the new international airport of Ulaanbaatar city, officers of the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia (MCAA) are conducting a comprehensive test to calibrate the fueling equipment, and to inspect occupational safety and health conditions, correlation between tasks, and the capacity of airport staff over the course of three days starting from May 19. A comprehensively equipped laboratory is also being operated to assess the quality of fuel.

MCAA First Deputy-Director B.Altantsom, Head of the National Civil Aviation Center P.Munkhjargal, and other corresponding officials are involved in the inspection.

The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia has issued a travel notice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nationals and permanent residents of Mongolia and foreign nationals of the countries/regions stated in the official Visa Exemption List of Mongolia, which can be found here, are allowed to enter from 10 May 2021.

However, there are certain entry requirements as stated in the travel notice and all passengers are required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test, which must be taken within 72 hours before departure of the first embarkation point.

Moreover, all persons arriving in Mongolia who have not been fully vaccinated against coronavirus infection will be quarantined at designated facilities for 7 days and PCR tests will be taken during the quarantine period. Information on the quarantine facilities can be found at www.tabinfo.mn and contact the listed hotels for reservations.

In the case of PCR test results are positive, the individuals will be transferred to a hospital for treatment. Persons arriving to Mongolia 14 days after receiving the full dose of coronavirus vaccines or those who were diagnosed earlier with a coronavirus infection and fully recovered are exempt from quarantine upon presenting proof of vaccination, antibody test result or other medical document.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, have officially launched the construction of new reactors at two nuclear power plants in China.

The official ceremony, along with bilateral talks, took place on Wednesday via a video link. The event marks the building of four new reactors at two nuclear plants in the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jiangsu. Both plants are reportedly being developed with the use of Russian technology.

“Russian and Chinese professionals are setting in motion a truly signature, flagship joint project,” Putin said during the ceremony, describing the technology as “powerful state-of-the-art Russian-made nuclear reactors compliant with all the safety regulations and the highest ecological standards.”

According to the Russian president, the projects are to be completed by 2026 and 2028, thus “making a great contribution .... to maintaining China’s energy security.”

The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant is the biggest joint project between China and Russia, signifying the nations’ groundbreaking cooperation in nuclear power. The first two reactors were completed and put into operation in 2007. The third and the fourth blocks were brought into commercial operation in 2018.

The power plant is co-owned by Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, a joint venture partially owned by the China National Nuclear Corporation and Atomstroyexport, the nuclear equipment exporter branch of the Russian corporation Rosatom. When completed, Tianwan will reportedly become the world’s largest such plant, with a total generating capacity of around 8,100 megawatts.

Before the pandemic, Ms. Kimiko used to travel to the ger district in a crowded bus to teach her students – who were all not in one place like kindergarten or school, but they waited for a kind-hearted Japanese teacher at their home. She doesn’t mind walking through impassible summer mud and the icy, slippery winter streets, nor the choking smog of burning coals and woods in the ger district. All she cares about is how to teach her students with disabilities and how to change the attitudes of their parents. Ms. Takahashi Kimiko came to Mongolia in 1998 for a two-year volunteer assignment as a kindergarten teacher and lived in the third largest city – Darkhan. Her passion of working with children brought her back to Mongolia in 2004 to work at a private kindergarten. In 2011, she established her own non-governmental organization to help children with disabilities. It was another touching podcast throughout which we felt her love for children and the unbending commitment to her dream of helping children with disabilities.

She Has Never Chosen Whom She Would Teach

The most challenging aspect of working in the development sector in Mongolia is to cope with excessive financial paperwork – she sighed – as she works alone. Otherwise, she likes to work in Mongolia. Even though there has been progress in increasing educational opportunities for children with disabilities, she pointed out there were a number of challenges. Teachers are not prepared to work with children with disabilities since they are already overwhelmed with 20-30 students per kindergarten classroom. There are private kindergartens, but it is not available for all disabled children. So, Kimiko san ventured out to help those who cannot go to kindergartens and schools – and she helps only those parents who allowed her to teach their children. In other words, she has never chosen whom she would teach depending on the location or level of disability. She insisted that she would never build or establish a kindergarten, or day care centre, because that is the job the Mongolian government should do. Therefore, she does not want to build a kindergarten or day care centre. She wants to work with a child when the parents are around. It seems to me that her key principle is to focus on the ‘can do’ and being creative about getting a child interested in learning, repeating, and experiencing with joy.

Just prior to the pandemic, she had 17 students – who live widely distributed in the city of 1.5 million population. In one day, she teaches three children, spending about an hour with each child. She said one hour is exactly enough and she does all her best to use that hour effectively. In winter days, she gets out of the ger district around 4 pm before it gets dark and prepares her lessons for the next day. In her teaching, she uses the same book for all children, for example, a well-known story of The Gigantic Turnip, but her teaching method would be different: there would be drawing or colouring activities for a child with Down syndrome, memorizing or speaking exercises for a child with intellectual disability, and concentration activities for an autistic child. And she proudly highlights that this is a mutual learning process for a child, the parents, and herself.

How to Teach Children with Disabilities

Treat a child like an adult, not always in ‘evii evii’ style (Mongolian words often used to spoil little children). The most important task is to build trust. If someone is always critical or does not pay attention, a child knows and will not have a mindset for open communication and collaborative learning. Also, one must be interested – as in her words, if the mind moves, the body will follow. So, one must be creative when in comes to getting the child’s interested and triggering their curiosity. Throughout the podcast, she advises anyone who is working with a child with disabilities not to stop at ‘chadahgui’ (cannot do). If you do focus on ‘chadahgui’, you’ll end up with ‘odoo yanaa’ (a Mongolian phrase used to express in fear or uncertainty), and you cannot think about the future. Rather, you should carefully assess what your child can do and cannot do. Again, you need to be creative about getting your child interested. In this way, you can imagine a realistic future with your child, and help your child continue doing things that they are able to do or are interested in doing. Even if your child does not know the ABC (alphabet), there will always be something that he/she can do. Here, Kimiko san shared one of her projects. The project is named ‘goyo ireedui’ (nice future) – which helped parents with disabled children to think about the future together. This strikes us an important exercise for all of us to do together with our children – pondering together to construct our imagined future of the children, us, and the community – instead of acting as if we knew what is best for them. As Kimiko hinted, parents should help children to see different opportunities rather than imposing their options on them.

Many Mongolian parents asked her why their kids do not speak and how to improve their speaking. So, in response, Kimiko san published a book with speech improvement exercises and teaching methods for Mongolian parents. We felt this book is a valuable book since it is based on her personal experience of learning the Mongolian language in her thirties and having worked with children over two decades.

Differences Between Japan and Mongolia

‘Zam’ (road, sidewalk in Mongolian) is a key difference between Japan and Mongolia. It is difficult not only for disabled people, but for everyone. Kimiko san shared her astonishment over the great balancing skills of Mongolians – on these uneven, often slippery (during the winter) roads and sidewalks. For all of us, it is hard to imagine how parents are struggling to navigate on these uneven, poorly maintained, slippery sidewalks with their disabled children. Otherwise, she thinks, there is no major difference between Japanese and Mongolian parents with disabled children. They share the same feelings and experience similar challenges. They are worried about the future of their children-though conditions and opportunities might be different.

This takes us back to the Mongolian situation. Parents who live in the soum (an administrative subdivision within the province) probably have limited access to a computer/internet and to experts whereas parents who live in the city may have more opportunities. Yes, indeed, one of our previous guests talked about the challenges for disabled people living in the ger district. Although they are in vicinity of the city, they experience similar challenges as those who live in the countryside. Regardless of their location or country, parents with disabled children face similar challenges and are wary of the future.

Advice for Us – Mongolians

‘In Mongolia, people are very helpful and always ready to help. This is unique.’ Besides this praise, she wanted to share her critical view of us. People talk about many good ideas and demonstrate their eagerness to do something about these ideas. But soon, they stop answering their phones and disappear. It is as if when they talk, they look up the sky and imagine all good things, but they do not look down to their feet – or think critically about the implementation. So, it is important for anyone who wants to pursue their good ideas to have a detailed plan – with first, second, and third steps. If it does not work, take a little break, and then try to figure out the causes and find ways to move ahead. If you do, Kimiko san assures, the gradual improvement and success will follow.

As one thinks about continuous small improvement, things would already be improving. Here she pointed to one example. She liked a café – that employs adolescents with Down syndrome. To make things easier for customers and employees, the café could use a little check-box menu – on which customers can write their names and mark their orders. This would prevent any embarrassing situation between the customer and the employees with Down syndrome. It will increase the confidence of these young people who are eager to work.

This was another pleasant podcast – listening to a courageous, determined Japanese teacher, who is fluent in Mongolian and an expert of local bus routes. And she has a big heart, passion, and a dream of helping to change the attitudes of parents with disabled children. I felt her weeping inside – when she talked about how parents have changed as she showed how to work with their children with disabilities.

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan

The Untold podcast and blog post are made available by the generous support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Mongolia.

May 19 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's COVID-19 cases rose to 50,099 on Wednesday after 575 new local infections were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the country's health ministry.

Six fatalities were recorded in the past day, raising the death toll from the virus to 239, the ministry said, adding that 865 more patients have recovered, taking the total number of recoveries to 43,586.

The Asian country launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to cover at least 60 percent of its population of 3.3 million.

More than 1,802,200 Mongolians have so far received their first dose, and over 666,200 have been fully vaccinated.

As of 19 May, Mongolia has 50099 confirmed cases of coronavirus; nearly 87 percent of them have recovered. Unfortunately, Mongolia has reported a further six deaths from Covid-19; this brings the total death toll in the country to 227. Currently, 99 people with coronavirus are under treatment and are in a critical condition.

Mongolia is ranked second for vaccinating 54.7 percent of its 3.3 million population after Israel (62.8 percent). Vaccine roll-outs against Covid-19 pandemic are running in 206 countries around the world.