The import and export goods volume via Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, rose 13.5 percent from the previous year to more than 17 million tonnes in 2020, according to the port’s customs.

In 2020, around 14.7 million tonnes of goods were imported via the port, up 11.9 percent in volume, while exports weighing about 2.44 million tonnes increased by 24.3 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

Erenhot Port, an important channel for international cargo in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has 43 China-Europe freight train routes passing through it.

Outbound trains from Erenhot can reach countries including Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany. The imported and exported goods carried by freight trains through Erenhot include timber, auto parts, textile products and more.

The next three to six months will be crucial to the future of the vast Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia, as the companies behind the operation engage in talks to find a way to improve the government’s financial benefits from an ongoing underground expansion.

Based on a definitive estimate for the development of the new mine level, announced by Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) last month, the underground section of Oyu Tolgoi will begin production in October 2022. The project will cost $6.75 billion, about $1.4 billion higher than its original estimate, as established in the 2015 agreement.

That deal is commonly known in Mongolia as the “Dubai agreement”, because the nation’s then Prime Minister Chimediin Saikhanbileg struck it with former Rio Tinto’s boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques in a Dubai hotel, ending an impasse that had lasted close to three years.

Ulaanbaatar is not happy with the updated figures. Earlier this week, the capital announced that it would ask Rio Tinto and its majority-owned Turquoise Hill (TSX, NYSE: TRQ) to revisit the economic benefits that the expansion will bring to the state’s coffers.

“The government of Mongolia supports the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine development, which is viewed as holding benefits to the Mongolian economy because 80% of Oyu Tolgoi’s value lies beneath the surface,” Solongoo Bayarsaikhan, Mongolia’s Deputy Chief at Cabinet Secretariat said on Thursday.

“It is calculated that Mongolia will not receive dividend payments until 2051 and will incur debts of $22 billion. In addition, Oyu Tolgoi is estimated to pay profit taxes or corporate income taxes only in four years until 2051,” she noted.

In Bayarsaikhan’s view, the government of Mongolia may never receive a dividend from Oyu Tolgoi, in which the country has a 34% interest because the billions of dollars in loans taken on to develop the existing open-pit mine and the underground expansion have to be repaid before the state receives a dividend.

Both Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill have said they are ready to engage with local authorities, with analysts warning the looming renegotiations could cause further delays to the already deferred project.

Oyu Tolgoi’s expansion cost blowout to hit up to $1.8 billion

The copper-gold mine is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, about 550 km south of the capital Ulaanbaatar. (Source: Rio Tinto.)

“Any delays in obtaining approvals beyond the first half of 2021 may result in further value erosion of the project, which we expect to ramp up in October 2022,” Morgan Stanley analyst Alain Gabriel wrote this week. “A potential renegotiation of the mining agreement could result in some value leakage as the government seeks to accelerate its access to cash flows.”

BMO Jackie Przybylowski said the government’s claims highlight its legitimate concerns over the distribution of cash flows from the mine.

“Although we don’t model any change to the structure of the investment agreement, we do believe that a change is possible, which would improve the structure for all sides,” she wrote, adding that BMO did not anticipate a disruption to production or ownership.

Preferred outcome

The best scenario for everyone involved in the mine development, which will make Oyu Tolgoi the world’s fourth-largest copper operation once completed, is uncertain.

The Mongolian Parliamentary Working Group, formed in 2019, recommended exploring possibilities for a production sharing agreement and/or replacement of the equity interest with a special royalty.

Rio and Turquoise Hill are focused on bringing the underground expansion into production. But the road ahead could be rough as there are many issues to hash out.

The two companies are at odds over roles and obligations in securing the remaining funding. An arbitration tribunal is expected to settle the matter in the coming months.

The miners also need to extend an existing power agreement beyond March. The operation is powered by coal-fired electricity imported from neighbouring China via overhead cables.

Then there is a potential restructuring of Oyu Tolgoi’s management team, as well as the need to ratify a 2019 statement of resources and reserves and a feasibility study prepared in 2020.

All these topics need to be addressed before Rio Tinto makes a major mining decision — an undercut — in May.

The technique is part of an extraction method known as block caving. It involves creating an artificial cavern below the ore body, allowing it to progressively collapse under its own weight.

Suspension out of question

All the parties involved seem sure that the project won’t be halted, though they acknowledge that further delays are possible. Oyu Tolgoi is a crucial part of Mongolia’s economy. Not only it is the country’s biggest source of foreign direct investment, it also provides thousands of well-paid jobs. Close to 94% of the workforce are Mongolian nationals.

The current negotiation environment is more favourable than in 2013, when Rio considered halting construction of the open pit mine due to Mongolian authorities demanding a greater share of profit from the mine.

The special committee looking into the cost overrun and delays is comprised of four members: two members nominated by Turquoise Hill and two members nominated by Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi (the government) with extensive financial and economic background.

There is also a presidential election coming up in June, with the two biggest parties the left-wing Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) and the centre-right Democratic Party (DP) said to be in favour of keeping Oyu Tolgoi going.

Former Prime Minister Batbold Sukhbaatar remains the senior member of the ruling People’s Party and is one of the party’s likely 2021 presidential candidates.

Though not part of the negotiation team, Batbold was Foreign Minister when Rio Tinto struck the deal to develop Oyu Tolgoi, a mine that became the symbol of the new, open-for-business, Mongolia.

Current President Khaltmaagiin Battulga seems to align better with those who question the presence of foreign investors, including Turquoise Hill and Rio Tinto.

Opponents believe the mine and its copper belong to Mongolia and that the western companies involved are exploiting the country’s natural resources without giving enough back.

Anti-foreigners

Battulga has recently also brought back a previously rejected draft law requiring international investors to use Mongolian banks.

Analysts believe the move would scare foreign investors and they see it as a tactic to loosen Rio and Turquoise Hill’s grip on the giant mine.

They also worry Battulga could be paving the way for Russia or China to get involved in Oyu Tolgoi.

He is a known admirer of Vladimir Putin, speaks Russian fluently and has a Russian partner — Angelique Davain.

Rio Tinto has repeatedly said the underground expansion is its most important growth project. Once completed, Oyu Tolgoi will churn out 480,000 tonnes of copper a year from 2028 to 2036.

It is understood that the miner has offered to cut the fee it charges Mongolia for managing the development of Oyu Tolgoi and has already reduced the interest rate on loans provided for the project.

China is considering accepting some stranded Australian coal cargoes, an effort that would help ease a logjam of vessels that have stacked up off its coast for months.

The shipments that could be cleared are those that arrived before a ban on Australian coal went into effect, said a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.

Deliberations are at an initial stage and any decision would need the approval of more senior Chinese leaders, the person said. The broader prohibition on Australian coal remains in place, and ideally, the cargoes would be resold to buyers in other countries, the person said.

China’s customs administration didn’t immediately respond to a fax seeking comment.

The opaque nature of the Australian ban, which has never been publicly acknowledged by Beijing, makes pinpointing its start date difficult. The government was rumored to have ordered its five biggest utilities to halt Australian purchases as early as May, while in October, power stations and steel mills were told to stop using Australian coal.

November halt

In November, Beijing ordered traders to halt purchases of a raft of the country’s commodities, including coal. Relations between the two trading partners have deteriorated since Huawei Technologies Co. was barred from building Australia’s 5G network in 2018.

China has strengthened its safety and environmental protection checks on coal imports from Australia to defend the interests of Chinese companies, consumers and the environment, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said when asked about the status of the stranded cargoes during a press briefing in Beijing on Friday. But he added that the measures weren’t aimed at any specific country or product.

Most of the stranded coal is the type used to make steel, while a smaller portion is used for power generation, according to data intelligence firm Kpler. About 70 ships are waiting to discharge according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg.

Some shipowners and charterers are pushing for the cargo owners to allow them to divert to foreign ports to relieve an estimated 1,400 mariners who remain trapped on the ships. Humanitarian concerns have deepened as the standoff lengthens: a seafarer on the Anastasia stranded off China’s coast attempted suicide, Seatrade Maritime News reported Jan. 6.

The Jag Anand vessel, which arrived to China in June, is en route to Japan to relieve its crew, according to Cargill Inc., which is the vessel’s original charterer. Some of the seafarers on the vessel have been working about 20 months without a break, according to the National Union of Seafarers of India.

China has had to contend with record prices for both types of coal this winter. The worst winter freeze in decades has driven heating demand to an all-time high, and thrown the country’s energy markets into tumult. At the same time, China’s steel mills are churning out record quantities to feed a state-funded infrastructure boom to rescue the economy after the ravages of the pandemic.

Coking coal for May on the Dalian Commodity Exchange pared gains to close up 3.7%, after earlier rising as much as 6%.

China’s coal imports from all countries surged to record levels in December, lifting the annual total for coal above 300 million tons to its highest since 2013. In past years, Australia has been the country’s second-biggest supplier after Indonesia.

China’s authorities are also surveying the stranded carriers to identify shipowners, crew nationalities, and end users of the coal, the person said.

(By Aaron Clark, with assistance from Kevin Varley, Alfred Cang, Winnie Zhu, Dan Murtaugh, Colum Murphy and Stephen Stapczynski)

Rio Tinto and the Quebec government have announced the development of the first scandium oxide plant in North America. The commercial-scale demonstration plant, which is already under construction, will cost about $6 million and has the capacity to produce 3 tonnes per year.

Considering the current size of the market, estimated at around 20 tonnes per year, the production will be significant for Rio Tinto and Quebec.

“With the first production unit, Rio Tinto will become the leading producer of high-purity scandium oxide in North America,” said Stephane Leblanc, Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium’s managing director, in a virtual press conference on Thursday.

The modular plant is expected to begin production by the end of June. Leblanc noted that it can be scaled up to meet demand and estimates that production could be increased to reach over 12 t/y annually.

As part of a push by Quebec to support the production of critical minerals as well as specialized refined products for the technology sector, the province will contribute a total of $850,000 to the project — $500,000 from the Ministry of Energy and Mines and $350,000 from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation. Quebec launched its $68-million Plan for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals Development in October.

Scandium is one of 22 critical and strategic minerals identified by the province in the plan.

“The scandium oxide recovery project is an inspiring example of how our tailings can be developed, it’s a testament to our ability to seize opportunities in a growing market and it is a testament to the role that Quebec can play in the field of super alloys and (critical and strategic minerals).” said Jonatan Julien, Quebec’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources at the news conference.

There are currently two major markets for scandium oxide – to produce high-performance aluminum alloys for the aerospace, defence and 3-D printing industries, and in the production of solid oxide fuel cells. However, the uses of scandium are much wider and are growing. In an optimistic scenario, the Boston Consulting Group estimates demand could reach 650 tonnes annually by 2028.

A very low addition of 0.1 to 0.2% of scandium in aluminum increases its mechanical properties, heat and corrosion resistance, and welding properties.

Rio Tinto discovered scandium oxide in the ore at its Lac Tio open pit mine in Havre-Saint-Pierre, Que., five years ago.

After starting with lab testing in 2015 and moving to a pilot plant in 2017, the company developed a process to produce high-purity scandium oxide with a purity of over 99.99% from waste generated during the processing of titanium dioxide in 2019. Last year it produced an aluminum-scandium master alloy.

Since the scandium is extracted from waste and no additional mining is required to produce it, its production has a small environmental footprint.

(This article first appeared in our sister publication, the Canadian Mining Journal, part of Glacier Resource Innovation Group)

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. According to the preliminary results of 2020, the total revenue of the general government budget was MNT 10.4 trillion, of which the equilibrated revenue of the general government budget amounted to MNT 9.4 trillion or 90.6% of the total revenue of the general government budget.

At the end of 2020, the total expenditure and net lending reached MNT 14.0 trillion, showing a deficit of MNT4.5 trillion in the equilibrated balance.

In December 2020, the total equilibrated revenue and grants of the general government budget reached MNT 1.2 trillion, with an increase of MNT 476.5 billion or 68.6%. The total expenditure and net lending were MNT 2.0 trillion, increased by MNT 852.4 billion or 74.3% compared to the previous month.

Local Government budget: In 2020, the total revenue and grants of the local government budget amounted to MNT 3.2 trillion. Total expenditure and net lending amounted to MNT 3.2 trillion, resulting in a surplus of MNT 40.5 billion in the equilibrated balance. The equilibrated balance increased by MNT 20.7 billion or 2.0 times compared to the previous year.

The total revenue and grants of the local government budget reached 3.2 trillion and increased by MNT 267.2 billion or 9.1%, compared to the previous year. This increase was primarily from MNT 329.0 billion or 19.8% increase in non-tax revenue, though tax revenue decreased by MNT 61.8 billion or 4.8%.

Insurance fund: In 2020, the total revenue of the social insurance fund reached MNT 1.9 trillion, showing a decrease of MNT 582.4 billion or 23.4%, while the total expenditure of the social insurance fund was MNT 2.4 trillion, increased by MNT 387.1 billion or 18.8% compared to the previous year.

Source: National Statistics Office

China’s relations with Australia aren’t getting better any time soon. The list of grievances from both sides is extensive, and there's been Twitter clashes and commodity import bans on Australian products. Fortunately, iron ore and LNG remain untouched.

China is Australia's biggest trading partner. Australian businesses in mining, petroleum, agriculture, education and tourism have gained a lot from this trade over the past two decades, with exports to China reaching US$117 billion in 2019. And now many of these items are under threat.

The disruption of Australian coal shipments to China caught the attention of many. Mongolia is trying to ramp up its exports to fill the coal supply gaps created by Australia (see the chart above) competing with Russians and Indonesians.

Yet, there may be additional ways that Mongolia can take advantage of the trade spat.

Here, I’d like to focus on beef, tourism, and wheat - all big-ticket items on Australia's export list to China.

Last December, China banned beef imports from another Australian supplier, the sixth so far. Lamb exporters were also unable to get into the Chinese market due to Covid-19.

Chinese beef consumption has been steadily growing, particularly in the country’s northwest (close to Mongolia). Per person, beef and veal consumption in China jumped from 3.3 kg in 2011 to almost 5 kg last year.

Mongolia has been pushing for a greater share of meat exports to China for many years. Capitalizing on the above opportunity would require Mongolian beef suppliers to meet Chinese inspection and quarantine standards, which is difficult for an industry made up of mostly small or medium-sized enterprises.

Compared to the multi-billion-dollar coal export sector, meat exports to China are tiny - only $57m in 2019.

A German report found that Mongolia’s beef suppliers’ share of the Chinese market is ‘very low’. According to the report, the government needs to improve cross-border infrastructure for refrigerated goods like beef, which can often rot during transport to China. It also recommends better enforcement of domestic livestock hygiene standards and cross-border cooperation on food safety enforcement.

If these logistics and hygiene challenges are resolved, Mongolian beef exporters will then have to compete with their international peers and offer better terms to Chinese buyers. The Argentinians, Russians, and Brazilians have all been doing their best to meet beef demand in China.

Another opportunity arising from the China-Australia trade spat is tourism for Mongolia once the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

Last June, China warned its citizens not to travel to Australia due to a ‘spike in racism’ during the pandemic (which the Australian government disputes). Even though Chinese tourists can’t currently come to Australia anyway due to border closures, this warning could remain once borders re-open.

It could even escalate to an all-out ban on package tours, which has previously happened to both South Korea and Canada. Around 60 percent of Chinese tourists use package tours to travel.

Mongolia has similarities with Australia that could appeal to this market, including an extremely low population density and wide-open spaces. Although there are also big differences (especially the weather), even securing a small slice of this market could prove lucrative.

If China does move to ban package tours to Australia, the Mongolian government could capitalize on the opportunity through a tourism branding exercise in China. A good model could be New Zealand’s ‘100% Pure’ campaign, which showcases the country’s natural beauty and is renowned as one of the world’s most successful tourism campaigns.

A third opportunity is more remote but is still worth keeping an eye on – wheat.

There’s now talk that Australian wheat could be next up on China’s hit list. China has already increased inspections of Australian wheat, and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, which is a federal government agency, warned that China could soon ban Australian imports.

Yet China’s demand for foreign wheat is now the strongest it’s been in 25 years thanks to high domestic prices.

Whilst this could come mostly from the US and elsewhere, it could represent a business opportunity for Mongolian wheat farmers. It is true the harvest was not that great last year at 408,900 tonnes. Mongolia barely meets its domestic demand and iwas negotiating to procure additional wheat from Russia. However, once Covid is over, Mongolia may be well placed to produce more wheat and export it to China with improved harvesting.

Of course, none of this is guaranteed – circumstances could change quickly as the China-Australia relationship evolves. Nonetheless, there could be new opportunities emerging at a time when the Mongolian government is looking to diversify the economy. It would do well to investigate further.

by: Ewen Levick is the editor of Mongolia Weekly. He is also a co-founder of Taiga Travel Mongolia LLC, an experienced tourism operator based in Ulaanbaatar.

Rio Tinto said on Thursday it will become North America’s first producer of critical mineral scandium with the construction of a commercial-scale demonstration plant at its metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.

Rio said it would invest $6 million to build the first module at Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (RFTF) with commercial production starting in the second quarter of this year.

The plant will have an initial capacity to produce three tonnes of scandium oxide per year, or approximately 20% of the current global market.

Rio said it has developed a process to extract high purity scandium oxide from the waste streams of titanium dioxide production, without the need for any additional mining at its ilmenite mine in Havre-Saint-Pierre in the Canadian province.

Scandium oxide is used to improve the performance of solid oxide fuel cells, which are used as a power source for data centres and hospitals, as well as in niche products such as lasers and lighting for stadiums or studios.

It is also used to produce high-performance aluminium-scandium master alloys for the aerospace, defence and 3D printing industries.

The Government of Quebec is contributing approximately C$650,000 to the project through the Quebec Plan for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals.

Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium managing director Stéphane Leblanc said Rio Tinto has been engaged in the exploration and production of rare earths and critical minerals globally for a number of years to meet the demand in new and emerging technologies.

“With the support of Rio Tinto’s aluminium business, we are uniquely positioned to deliver aluminium-scandium master alloys and develop synergies with North America’s manufacturing supply chain.”

(Reuters) - Airbnb Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky on Thursday predicted travel would permanently change due to the pandemic with people seeking out thousands of smaller cities and spending more time visiting friends and family.

Traditional tourism and sightseeing at top global destinations would be significantly reduced by travelers who will drive to smaller communities and fly less for business meetings.

Travelers are “yearning for what was taken away from them,” Chesky said at the Reuters Next conference in an interview with Jonathan Weber, Reuters global technology editor. “They’re not yearning to see Times Square. What they are yearning to do is to see their friends and their families they have not seen in a long time.”

The startup was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 and its business dropped by 80% in a little over eight weeks.

However, as lockdowns eased, more travelers opted to book homes instead of hotels, helping Airbnb post a surprise profit for the third quarter. The San Francisco-based firm gained from increased interest in renting homes away from major cities.

The home rental firm went public in a blockbuster initial public offering in December, its shares more than doubling in their stock market debut. Shares of Airbnb rose as much as 10% to record high of $187.42 on Thursday.

The rental platform has been canceling home-sharing reservations in the Washington D.C. area for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration’s next Wednesday after law enforcement warned of a threat from armed militias.

Chesky recalled the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and said that he did not want the platform facilitating people traveling to commit violence in communities.

Airbnb made the decision of after consulting local and federal officials and after a number of hosts worried about potential attacks sought to cancel bookings.

However, major hotel chains including Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Marriott International have said they planned to uphold existing reservations.

People across the world are delighted to see the back of 2020, a year that brought a global pandemic and an increasingly aggressive China. Mongolia was spared these global developments to some extent. The country largely weathered the COVID-19 storm successfully and held a parliamentary election that added another feather to its governance cap: a government returned with a landslide victory in a freely contested national election.

A child looks at a dog outside a Mongolian ger in Tov province outside Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Photo: Reuters/B Rentsendorj).

Until November, Mongolia was a rare COVID-19 success story. Recognising the limits of its public health system, the government reacted quickly to news of the COVID-19 outbreak in January Tsagaan Sar (lunar new year) was reimagined to curtail family visits and the same is envisioned for the coming festivities in 2021. The government built on lessons from a 2019 World Health Organization-supported ‘Pandemic Flu Readiness’ workshop. Mongolia’s relative isolation enabled the government to react quickly and tightly control its borders, preventing community infections for much of 2020. As is the case for many countries, the question of procurement of vaccines is on the horizon and somewhat unresolved.

But on 11 November, Mongolia saw its first case of community infection. A strict lockdown was enacted the next day. While this lockdown seemed to have effectively curtailed infections, a new cluster appeared in Ulaanbaatar around Christmas and the government is still struggling to contain it with rigid lockdowns.

The economic impact of COVID-19 in Mongolia has been mitigated by preventing community transmission. Still, self-employed and herder households have suffered losses. The economy has been hit hard by limits imposed on mineral exports, especially after the closure of the China–Mongolia border which blocked truck-based coal exports. Mining sites have now reopened and are operating somewhat normally. Tourism has been decimated. The largest copper mining operations, Erdenet and Oyu Tolgoi, hire significant numbers of expatriate employees and have been impacted by travel restrictions. Mongolian GDP shrunk by nearly 10 per cent in 2020, but the Asian Development Bank projects a 5.1 per cent recovery in 2021.

Somewhat surprisingly, Mongolia joined the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) in late September. While the immediate impact on trade with APTA members like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh may be limited, and trade with larger economies like China and South Korea is unlikely to change, this membership represents another step in Mongolia’s regional trade diplomacy. It signals to domestic industries that international trade relations are improving, bringing further standardisation and other benefits.

One foreign policy development with significant long-term implications was the confrontation over new language policies in China’s Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (IMAR) in September. Some Mongolian and international advocates refer to the IMAR as ‘Southern Mongolia’ and this perspective gained traction in Mongolia over the summer. Protests against the policies in Southern Mongolia built over the summer.

The most prominent Mongolian to join the online protests was former president Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. This was noticed by Beijing in preparation for a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in September. This may represent a shift towards a harder attitude to Mongolia in line with more aggressive stances elsewhere in the region. Perhaps in an effort to please the visiting boss, Chinese Ambassador Chai Wenrui called out Elbegdorj as a hypocrite.

Given there have been no further tensions in China–Mongolia relations, this may have been a blip of negativity. But with more reactions to Chinese assertiveness likely to come from Australia, Europe and the United States, Mongolia will be forced to walk a fine line between objecting to Chinese aggression and authoritarianism while maintaining constructive, economically vital relationships.

The biggest event in domestic politics was the parliamentary election on 24 June. With a campaign that was mildly constrained by COVID-19 distancing measures, Mongolians voted in strong numbers and gave a landslide victory to the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP). This was the first time in 30 years of multiparty democracy that a sitting government was re-elected with a majority.

The MPP now holds 62 of the 76 seats, but nearly half of those parliamentarians are newly elected, largely due to Prime Minister and party leader Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh’s efforts to rejuvenate the party. The MPP’s success can be attributed to its efforts on curbing air pollution in Ulaanbaatar in 2019–20, and its competent response to COVID-19.

Following constitutional amendments passed in 2019, Khurelsukh’s cabinet now only includes four sitting MPs, with the majority of ministers bringing professional expertise to portfolios. It remains to be seen whether this signals a shift of power and interaction between cabinet and parliament, and whether new MPs will develop a coherent policy and legislative agenda.

Despite the MPP’s supermajority, further legislation to specify aspirations of the 2019 constitutional amendments has not been passed. This is particularly glaring when it comes to appointments to and dismissals of judges and prosecutors to bolster judicial independence. 2020 has seen a spate of prosecutions of former politicians that seem politically motivated in terms of timing.

In June 2021, Mongolians will elect a president to a single six-year term as per the 2019 constitutional amendments. President Khaltmaagiin Battulga is expected to be ‘grandfathered’ out of the single-term provision and will seek the nomination of the Democratic Party. Most observers expect Prime Minister Khurelsukh to be nominated by the MPP, riding his wave of COVID-19 success and election popularity. With two additional parties in parliament, it remains unclear what the race will look like. Given the constraints on presidential power, the race to succeed Khurelsukh as prime minister and party chair may turn out to be more significant in policy terms.

by: Julian Dierkes is Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. He is one of the principal authors of the Mongolia Focus blog.

This article is part of an EAF special feature series on 2020 in review and the year ahead.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ In May 2019, we reported that a 13-year-old Mongolian boy had been selected for the cast of the reboot of Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy series from the 1990s, ‘All That’. That boy, Chinguun Sergelen, is to take part in the National Children’s Inauguration to be organized by the National Children’s Campaign, a national youth advocacy organization, in the United States on January 17, prior to U.S. President elect Joe Biden's inauguration, as a guest speaker.

Last December, S.Chinguun worked with Nickelodeon, TIME, and TIME for Kids alongside other children to help pick the ultimate Kid of the Year from the finalists for the first-ever Kid of the Year honor, a multiplatform initiative recognizing extraordinary young leaders who are making a positive impact in their communities.

About the upcoming event where celebrities, activists, elected officials and youth are speaking on topics that the next administration must address to prioritize children, Chinguun wrote on his Facebook page, “I'm super excited to join this special event and I will definitely be there, hope to see you guys there too!!”.