GENEVA (25 November 2021) ̶ The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Reem Alsalem, will visit Mongolia from 29 November to 8 December 2021.

“During my visit, I will review the implementation of international commitments and the legal, institutional and policy frameworks put in place to prevent and eliminate violence against women,” Alsalem said.

She will also examine the response to specific manifestations of violence against women, such as trafficking of women and girls, violence against refugee and migrant women, women and girls at risk of statelessness, and femicide.

“I look forward to a productive and substantial discussion with State officials at the national and local levels, civil society actors and others on the progress made for protecting women and girls from gender-based violence as well as the outstanding challenges in that regard,” she said.

“Of course I will also make sure to meet with women and girls who should be at the centre of all these efforts,” she added

During the 10-day visit, the Special Rapporteur will visit women’s shelters, one-stop service centres and a women’s detention centre, and will meet survivors of violence. In addition to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, the expert will visit Dalanzadgad in Ömnögovi province.

The Special Rapporteur will hold a news conference to share the preliminary findings of her visit at 12:00 local time on Wednesday, 8 December in Ulaanbaatar at the UN House Auditorium. Access will be limited to the media and in accordance with local regulations on COVID-19. Attendants must register by 5 December via this link:

Alsalem will present her final report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2022.

Ms. Reem Alsalem (Jordan) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences by the UN Human Rights Council in July 2021, to recommend measures, ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences. She is an independent consultant on gender issues, the rights of refugees and migrants, transitional justice and humanitarian response. She holds a Masters in International Relations from the American University in Cairo, Egypt (2001) and a Masters in Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2003).

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Renata Preturlan (+41 22 928 92 54 / renata.preturlan@un.org)

The hydrogen plant for Mongolia’s first oil refinery will be equipped with technology licensed by KT - Kinetics Technology of Italy.

Licensors of processing technology necessary for the oil refinery have begun to be selected. As several of the processes at the refinery will require hydrogen, the technology will be important in running its operations.

As a result of the two-year-long process to select licensors and conduct negotiations, it was decided to use the technology licensed by the Italian company, KT - Kinetics Technology. With branches in over 30 countries, the company owns licenses for many types of technology, and is a representative of the large-scale companies running operations in the global market for oil and gas, reports Mongol Refinery State Owned LLC.

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 licensor companies for visbreaking and separating sulfur alongside the hydrogen plant.

Mongolia’s top export destination during the period between January and October, 2021 was China, accounting for close to 86 percent of its total exports. China also accounted for 39.7 percent of Mongolia’s total imports, thus becoming the biggest import supplier for the country during the same period, as per the Mongolian National Statistics Office.

The statistical agency also said that Mongolia’s foreign trade volume touched USD 13.2 billion between January and October, recording a 26.3 percent increase compared to the same period in 2020.

Mongolia traded with 151 nations during the first 10 months of this year.

Before end of December, 2021, the Ulaanbaatar municipal organisation offices are to move to the New Yarmag Centre in the Khan-Uul District of the capital, said Major D.Sumiyabazar. The citizens council of representatives of Ulaanbaatar city approved MNT 1.5 billion for relocating the offices on 7 October.

Consisting of three blocks, the new office complex is covered 68 thousand square meters and the constriction cost was MNT 97 billion. According to the master plan, the Ulaanbaatar City Mayor’s office, the City Administration and Citizens’ Representative Council office will reside in the 10 story ‘A’ block, the sub-agencies of the UB City Administration in the 13 story ‘B’ block, and reception, a sports centre and all ‘one-window’ services in the three story ‘C’ block.

The municipal organisations provide 332 kinds of government services to an average 5700 individuals and enterprises every day. The decision to move the administration buildings out of the centre, was largely determined by the traffic congestion caused; it is estimated that nearly 200,000 cars need to enter Ulaanbaatar city centre daily causing traffic jams.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is supporting MCS Coca-Cola, Mongolia’s largest producer of soft drinks, by providing fresh funds required for the completion of its long-term investment programme to meet growing demand.

A senior loan of up to US$ 15 million to MCS Coca-Cola will help to finalise the construction of a new PET bottling plant.

The funds will be used to install a modern and resource-efficient bottling line and to build an energy-efficient warehouse. Both the bottling line and the warehouse will comply with international occupational health and safety, food safety and environmental standards.

In addition, the new bottling line and warehouse will improve MCS Coca Cola’s distribution of food and beverages in rural areas and increase their shelf life.

To date, the EBRD has invested more than US$ 1.87 billion in Mongolia’s economy through 117 projects.

Journalists and editors in China and Mongolia should join hands to boost cooperation and strengthen friendship between the two neighbors, said officials and media representatives during a media forum.

The remarks were made on Wednesday at the 12th China-Mongolia Media Forum, which was simultaneously held online in Beijing, the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, and Hohhot in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

During a speech at the forum, Xu Lin, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on media professionals from China and Mongolia to work together to boost mutual prosperity and friendship between the two countries.

China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and the development of bilateral relations maintains a good momentum, he said.

Media cooperation plays an important role in building a closer Sino-Mongolian community with a shared future. Xu, who is also minister of the State Council Information Office, called on media workers from the two countries to have sensible voices, make high-quality news reports and deepen cooperation in personnel exchanges.

Media professionals should also tell good stories of China-Mongolia cooperation in many areas, including how the two neighbors have jointly fought the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Damdin Tsogtbaatar, a member of Mongolia's parliament, also called on the two countries to expand cooperation and exchanges.

He said media personnel have contributed to promoting mutual trust and cultural exchanges between the two countries, highlighting that cooperation is the only option in the face of challenges and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic.

Han Yunxiang, director of the Inner Mongolian government's information office, said media cooperation between China and Mongolia has great potential.

He suggested that media professionals should broaden cooperation not just in traditional media such as television program production but also in new media, which has developed rapidly over the past years.

More than 100 media representatives from both countries attended the forum and shared experiences and ideas for media cooperation and in facing the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

The forum is an annual event that began in 2010 and remains an important platform for media exchanges and cooperation between China and Mongolia.

Turkey's Machine and Chemical Industry Inc (MKE) will build a cartridge loading and assembly factory in Mongolia under a contract signed with Mongolia's Defence Industry Board on 15 November.

The factory will have a yearly capacity of producing 10 million cartridges, Yasin Akdere, MKE general manager, said during the signing ceremony at MKE's Gazi Fişek fireworks factory in Ankara, Turkey's capital.

In July, MKE signed a contract with the Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) for the supply and installation of cartridge loading and assembly and bullet and shell production lines.

Minister of State for External Affairs of India Rajkumar Ranjan Singh is paying a visit to Mongolia on November 23- 26 at the invitation of Deputy Foreign Minister B.Munkhjin. Deputy Foreign Minister B.Munkhjin and Minister of State for External Affairs of India Rajkumar Ranjan Singh have held official talks on November 24.

During the talks, the sides discussed strengthening of the strategic partnership between Mongolia and India, the implementation of large-scale projects, and possibilities of fruitful cooperation between two countries’ entities in overcoming the economic difficulties posed by the pandemic.

Noting that Mongolia strives to avoid from making its export being overly dependent on a single market, Deputy Minister B.Munkhjin expressed all-round support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to export mining products, including coking coal to India, its third neighbor.

For his part, Minister of State for External Affairs of India Rajkumar Ranjan Singh noted that drafting of the memorandum of understanding in mining sector is under the process, and expressed hope that the two sides will sign it soon.

The sides agreed to actively cooperate to address the problems related to the delay of the oil refinery plant project, which is a symbol of friendly relations between the two countries, intensify its works, and put it into operation on time. In addition, the parties expressed to cooperate in the field of information technology, including ensuring cyber security, and the ‘Smart city’ project, being implemented in Mongolia.

589,315 people have received the 3rd dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 across the country. People’s participation in the additional dose is increasing. It is planned to downgrade the current heightened state of readiness ‘Orange Level’ to a ‘Yellow Level’ and return all types of educational institutes to normal operations when the coverage of 3rd dose or a booster shot of vaccines against COVID-19 reaches 30 percent of the total population of Mongolia or 50 percent of the target population (citizens above 18 years old).

“Compared to the previous week, the COVID-19 infections have fallen by 4,102, which connects with administering of the additional dose,” said Minister of Health S. Enkhbold today, November 24.

As of November 23, the coverage of 1st dose reached 69.4 percent, 2nd dose – 66.0 percent and 3rd dose or a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines – 18.0 percent (589,315) of the total population.

This year, Mongolia has harvested a total of 571.1 thousand tons of crops. "This year the country has gotten the highest yield that have not been in the last 30 years. The high yield is likely due to the fact that 30 percent of the seeds were replaced by elite varieties for spring sowing, as well as favorable weather conditions. In previous years, about 280,000 tons of grain were harvested, while this autumn the agrarians managed to harvest the crop fully without losses. Also, we have abundant potato crop that can meet domestic demand,” said Z.Mendsaikhan, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, at the press briefing today, November 16.

Mongolia’s annual wheat demand is about 310 thousand tons. This fall, the harvest has showed a high record of 542.7 thousand tons or more than the demand. 38.3 thousand tons of oil plants and 118 thousand tons of vegetables were harvested. Last year, the harvest of vegetables accounted for about 47 percent of domestic needs, but this year it is expected to reach 60 percent.