Fast track border passage for China, Mongolia to reboot trade links www.globaltimes.cn

China and Mongolia have implemented a "fast track" entry agreement amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the orderly and safe flow of people and goods across borders at border cities since Friday, China's Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Former PM J.Erdenebat sentenced to six years in prison www.news.mn

A Mongolian court sentenced former Prime Minister J.Erdenebat to six years in prison for abuse of power and banned him for six years from working in government office in July 06. The trial of the politician has been continuing for three days in Ulaanbaatar at the Bayanzurkh, Sukhbaatar and Chingeltei District Court.

Recovery rate in Mongolia reaches 85 percent www.news.mn

Three more Mongolians have been discharged from the National Centre for Communicative Diseases (NCCD) after having fully recovered from coronavirus.

Eastern region refined coal factory under development www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The eastern region refined coal factory that will supply refined coal briquettes to households in the capital city is under construction in Nalaikh district. On July 5, officials led by acting Governor of the capital city and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar J.Batbayasgalan checked the construction progress.

The U.S. reiterates its commitment to support Mongolia’s Third Neighbor Policy www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ AmCham Mongolia hosted U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia Michael Klecheski for its July Online Monthly Meeting. Over 30 attendees joined the meeting representing AmCham member companies, domestic and international businesses operating in Mongolia. Mr. Jay Liotta, Chairman of AmCham Mongolia, opened the meeting and congratulated Mongolia on the recent, democratically held elections.

He proceeded to say that sharing rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religious beliefs and practices, and the right to peacefully assemble, bond our two countries together. When put into the geopolitical context, democracy in Mongolia is a fantastic story as the two authoritarian neighbors continuously try to re-order Eurasia in their image. It is in the U.S.’s best interest to support Mongolia’s independence and its people’s freedom and prosperity. AmCham and its members have been doing our part to grow and strengthen the ties between the two countries through our annual Doorknock to Washington DC, Trade missions throughout the U.S., the U.S. expo in Mongolia and our working groups and its advocacy efforts. Our political neutrality and our advocacy efforts for an independent, private sector-driven, free-market economy have become the hallmarks of our organization. Lastly, Chairman Liotta expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Klecheski and the U.S. embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for our shared collaboration and partnership in addressing Mongolia’s greylisting, advocating for the Third Neighbor Trade Act and other initiatives.

Ambassador Klecheski opened his speech by applauding AmCham Mongolia, and he said, “I’m pleased to say that AmCham too has forged ahead even in the face of the pandemic. Congratulations to AmCham on a good menu of virtual programming, a brisk pace of information-sharing, and the establishment of two new committees right amid coronavirus. ICT and the digital economy are pivotal, so this new committee is an important addition to AmCham’s organizational structure. I’ve always felt the corporate social responsibility that American firms display deserves to be highlighted and built on as much as possible, so I welcome the creation of the new CSR committee.”

H.E. Michael S. Klecheski then highlighted that the bilateral relations between the two countries continue to grow thanks to efforts like the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ‘s 350 million USD grant project addressing Mongolia’s water challenges in the capital city. The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has provided 1.5 million USD to U.N. agencies to help Mongolia address the COVID-19 global pandemic. USAID has also launched a five-year Business Excellence for Sustainability and Transparency (BEST) project worth 15 million USD to help grow and diversify Mongolia’s economy by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and improving economic governance and accountability.

In regards to the bilateral economic ties, U.S. exports to Mongolia reached the highest in the last five years, increasing 60% from the previous year to 193 million USD. Mongolian exports to the U.S. has also grown to 25 million USD in 2019 compared to 10 million USD the year before. The Government of the United States, through the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, consider helping Mongolia to be more self-sustaining and economically sovereign to be a priority, which is why spreading the word about the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to assist in Mongolian cashmere exports to the U.S. is essential.

Furthermore, the U.S. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased to 788 million USD in 2020, a 90% increase from 2 years ago, making the U.S. the 4th largest FDI in Mongolia. Our top priority is an implementation of the Transparency Agreement, and we are working on streamlining legalinfo.mn to include a function of public commenting. And lastly, for us, banking sector reform means well-capitalized and healthy banks, fully enforced anti-money laundering efforts, which is a precondition for extension of IMF program.

source: AmCham Mongolia

Copper prices may see ‘supercharged recovery’ in 2020 www.rt.com

The price of copper, which has surged lately, is likely to stabilize in the coming quarters, industry experts say. The red metal is often seen as a bellwether for the general state of the global economy.
Three-month copper futures on the London Metal Exchange (LME) hit the $6,000-a-ton mark by the end of June, rebounding from its low of around $4,626.50 at the height of Covid-19 fears in March. On Monday, three-month copper on the LME rose 1.2 percent to trade at around $6,088 a ton.

China-Mongolia border port sees more China-Europe freight trains in H1 www.hellenicshippingnews.com

A total of 956 China-Europe freight trains passed through the border port of Erenhot in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the first half of this year, an increase of 34 percent year on year, local authorities said Friday.

Mongolia to develop Zamyn-Uud Free Zone with ADB loan www.news.mn

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Mongolia signed three projects to lessen the socioeconomic impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on poor and vulnerable groups in Mongolia, to help support Mongolia’s post-pandemic recovery by developing an economic cooperation zone, and improve solid waste management.

Present at the signing of the Shock-Responsive Social Protection Project, for which the ADB approved a USD 26.4 million loan, and the solid waste management project, for which a grant of USD 2 million is being provided from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), were ADB Country Director in Mongolia Pavit Ramachandran and Mongolian Minister of Finance Khurelbaatar Chimed. Signing the Economic Cooperation Zone Project, for which the ADB is providing a USD 30 million loan, were Mr. Pavit Ramachandran and Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia Enkhtuvshin Ulziisaikhan. Mr. Matsuhashi Tomoyuki, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Mongolia and representatives from line ministries also attended the ceremony.

The project will develop the Zamyn-Uud Free Zone, situated near the busiest international border crossing between Mongolia and the People’s Republic of China in a district where the local economy and population rely heavily on border traffic and trade activities. It will support the construction and sustainable operations of new infrastructure and facilities in the free zone, as well as effective zone management. This will provide the foundation and environment needed for the private sector to build production capacity and help Mongolia expand trade activities and adapt to the rapidly evolving global economic landscape. Also, the project is part of a wider network of ADB trade-related projects in Mongolia along the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program’s corridor 4b. It is expected to be completed by December 2025.

The grant for solid waste management will open new income and employment opportunities, particularly for poor, women and disadvantaged people, through waste reuse and recycling pilots and skills and business development. The project will conduct public education and awareness to promote effective and inclusive waste recycling and reuse. Recycling businesses and community organizations will receive small grants to pilot innovative programs that will reduce the waste stream and encourage greater recycling. The project will also support the provincial governments in developing the sector policy framework, build capacity in solid waste management and planning and will serve as a model that other secondary cities can replicate.

Four priority aimag capital cities, Darkhan-Uul, Gobi-Altai, Sukhbaatar and Uvurkhangai, have been identified for the project together with the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development, the project executing agency.

The project will help reduce long-term environmental and health risks for about 160,000 people in the four cities by eliminating economic and environmental losses and health costs. At least half of households in each project city will be involved in information dissemination activities and gain knowledge on green job opportunities in waste recycling and reuse.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

Turkey helps to improve agriculture production in Mongolia www.news.mn

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in cooperation with the Mongolian Agricultural University Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Biotechnology has been implementing a multi-faceted agricultural project in the country.

Coronavirus cost global economy 400 MILLION full-time jobs – UN labor agency www.rt.com

Global working hours are expected to have plummeted by 14 percent in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The fall is the equivalent to 400 million full-time job losses globally in the second quarter, based on a standard 48-hour working week. The ILO previously projected a 10.7 percent fall in working hours, or 305 million job losses, for the period.