The company noted that its exploitation licence (EL) application for Block XX continues to progress.

A reserves report for the Heron-1 oil discovery has been reviewed by government appointed auditors and has been forwarded for final review by the authorities – Mongolia’s Mineral Resource Professional Council.

It added that it is pushing for the council to meet, and, is hopeful such a meeting could take place before the end of the third quarter.

Progress in permitting is delayed amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and also due to the country’s parliamentary election which was held in June. Petro Matad noted, however, its position in Mongolia remains in good standing as the licence award process progresses.

The company is also working on certain land access issues which delayed previous field operations in 2019. These issues were related to new legislation.

In terms of financial results, Petro Matad reported a US$2.35mln loss for the six months ended June 30 and it ended the half with US$2.08mln of cash.

“The company has strategically put in place cost saving measures without sacrificing its operational capability, which in the absence of new sources of financing, will enable it to remain in an operationally ready state until mid-2021,” it said.

With Academy award winning actor Mark Rylance as well as Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson as the main characters, the film also casts several Mongolian actors, such as State Honored Actor P.Tserendagva, D.Gursed and G.Dulguun-Erdene, as supporting characters.

About a Magistrate that works at a remote colonial outpost beginning to question his loyalty to the Empire, the plot brings forth the looming issue of who the “real” barbarians are.

The film is based on the novel, ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’, by a South African-born novelist J. M. Coetzee. Alongside the novel that won him the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature, all of his works revolve around the theme of protecting the wildlife and environment as well as ethnic heritage.

The 112-minute film is the sixth film directed by Columbian director Ciro Guerra. He previously won an award at the Cannes Film Festival with his films ‘The Wind Journey’ and ‘Embrace of the Serpent’ and both films also were nominated for Academy Awards

The Government of Mongolia extended the partial undertaking of high-alert preparedness through 31 August 2020 and issued precautionary measures.

Charter flights will be organised to:

Frankfurt: 21, 26 August
Istanbul: 20 August
Seoul: 22 August
Tokyo: 24 August
Sydney: 27, 29 August
For reservations, prices and other information regarding the flights, EU citizens can directly contact MIAT Mongolian Airlines, tel.: (11)333999 or Central Tower, tel.: (11) 313385 or Encanto Tower tel.: (11) 322118; or AirTrans ticketing agency City Plaza, tel.: (11) 303030.

EU citizens are advised to contact their Embassy or the Embassy representing their country for consular issues in Ulaanbaatar for additional information.

For information on the possibilities of onward travel to the European Union, EU citizens are advised to contact their national authorities, the authorities of transit countries and to review visa requirements for entry and transit.

Travel

Mongolian authorities suspended the entry of all passengers through all border checkpoints through 31 August 2020.
Subject to further implementation modalities, this restriction does not apply to:

Accredited staff and their direct family members of diplomatic missions and offices of international organisations in Mongolia (to be quarantined at facilities for 21 days upon arrival as per Mongolian citizens, followed by a 14-day home-isolation);
Foreign nationals who are direct family members of Mongolian nationals (to be quarantined at facilities for 21 days upon arrival as per Mongolian citizens, followed by a 14-day home-isolation);
International freight transport drivers and railway personnel of Mongolia, Russia and China.
This restriction entails:

Suspension of all regular passenger flights;
Suspension of international passenger train travel;
Closure of all land borders of Mongolia with China and Russia.
Public Places

Everyone is required to wear a facemask at public places. Non-compliance is subjected to a fine up to MNT 150 000.
Visitors can be subject to temperature screenings.
Quarantine

Upon entry, foreign and Mongolian citizens are subject to a 21-day quarantine at a government facility at their own expense, followed by a 14-day home-isolation.
Authorities might issue further travel restrictions, recommendations and updates.

If stranded in Mongolia, EU citizens are advised to keep regular contact with their representing Embassy and consult the travel advice issued by EU Member States as well as local resources.

The Mongolian economy amounted to 16.8 trillion Mongolian tugriks (5.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-June period, the NSO said in a statement.

The decrease in the GDP is largely related to restrictive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, said experts of the statistical agency.

As of Monday, Mongolia has confirmed 298 COVID-19 cases, all of which were imported. Among those infected, 276 people have recovered.

There are no local infections or deaths reported in the Asian country so far. Enditem

Since January, TİKA has actively helped the country’s development with educational, health and agricultural projects, as well as offered support to improve civilian and administrative infrastructures.

TİKA also set up winter greenhouses for Khotons, a Muslim Turkish community living in Uvs Province, located approximately 1,650 kilometers (1,025 miles) from Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar.

The district of Tarialan in Uvs, where the community is largely concentrated, has arable lands, and its name means "agriculture" in Mongolian.

The majority of the people of Tarialan can only grow vegetables for one season due to the climate. Winter greenhouses help them with year-round vegetable production. The project also offers Khotons an opportunity to earn some extra money by selling the surplus produce to locals.

In the province of Hentii, the agency built an underground vegetable storage facility capable of storing 250 tons of produce to extend its shelf life and improve the market share for Mongolian farmers.

Mongolia, like the rest of the world, has been affected by global warming. Summer droughts pose challenges for farmers and livestock breeders. In 2017, TİKA launched a project in Mongolia to share Turkey’s experience in animal husbandry and forage cultivation.

Trials were carried out over three years to determine plants suitable for cultivation in Mongolia. As part of the project, implemented in the districts of Altanbulag and Bornuur in Töv province, 10 hectares of land were allocated for an irrigation system and were provided agricultural equipment. Soon after, farmers succeeded in cultivating alfalfa seeds in the area.

TİKA also delivered food and hygiene aid to Mongolia during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some 1,000 aid packages were delivered to the needy, while 3D printers and other equipment helped Mongolia produce face shields for protection against the coronavirus.

In three districts in the Gobi Desert affected by global warming, TIKA drilled four clean water wells for people and animals with little access to water. The wells have provided clean water to thousands of people.

After introducing the progress of the project, current state, and pressing issues, CEO of Mongolian Oil Refinery state owned company D.Altantsetseg reported that the infrastructure work outside the oil refining plant has completed, while the groundwork for the refinery’s site and the construction of housing for workers are underway.

Furthermore, the company to contract for the construction of the refinery’s non-technological facilities has been selected, and the agreement is currently being developed, she noted. With the agreement established, the first stage of the refinery’s construction is to kick off.

Highlighting the strategic importance of the project, the Deputy PM underlined the necessity for government and local organizations to work in close cooperation to commission the oil refinery on time, and obliged the cabinet members to efficiently resolve pressing issues of the project, such as increasing raw material resources, boosting the oil exploration and extraction activities, and starting the financing of the oil pipeline project in the near future.

During the meeting, it was also deemed appropriate to establish a working group consisting of the corresponding cabinet members in order to accelerate project activities.

In addition, the two diplomats also touched upon visits and events to be held in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and discussed ways of broadening of bilateral trade and economic relations as well as the implementation of joint projects and programs in areas of mutual interest.

On 11 August, a total of 250 Mongolians returned home on a chartered flight from Prague to Ulaanbaatar. The Czech Government chartered aircraft flew to Mongolia at the request of the 192 Mongolians who had applied to return home via the IOM.

Cities in the country’s poorer central and western regions that meet certain requirements will also roll out trials of the digital currency, the ministry said. Internal tests will be conducted in all the cities to improve the currency’s functionality.

In May, the People’s Bank of China revealed plans to have its sovereign digital currency ready in time for the 2022 Winter Olympics. It said that the new currency, which doesn’t have an official name but is known by its internal shorthand DC/EP, or digital currency/electronic payment, will share some features with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra. The digital currency is projected to replace cash in circulation.

In April, the bank introduced the digital currency across four major cities: Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and the Xiongan New Area in the northern province of Hebei.

The government has already started paying civil servants in the district of Xiangcheng in Suzhou half of their transport subsidy in the digital currency as part of that city’s test run.

Government workers were told in April to begin installing an app on their smartphones into which the digital currency would be transferred. Civil servants were also told that the new currency could be transferred into their existing bank accounts or used directly for transactions at some designated merchants.

The recovered are servicemen of the Mongolian Armed Forces who returned home from Afghanistan on a chartered flight in mid-July, the NCCD said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Asian country conducted 627 tests for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, all of which showed negative results.

The national caseload remains at 298, and all the cases were imported. The country has reported no local transmissions or related deaths. Enditem