U.Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia, gave an official invitation to the heads of state of the two neighboring countries, China and Russia, to pay a state visit to Mongolia this year.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation, and Xi Jinping, President of People’s Republic of China, sent new year wishes to U.Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia, and wished him success in work. They also sent new year wishes to all the people of Mongolia and wished Mongolia prosperity and well development.

During the "Belt and Road" conference held in China in October 2023, U.Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia, held meetings with Vladimir Putin, President of Russian Federation, and Xi Jinping, President of People’s Republic of China, and finalized mega projects such as transferring natural gas pipeline through Mongolia, trade tax reduction, and the start of the Erdeneburen hydroelectric power plant project.

The implementation of Resolution No. 07 of 2022, "On Giving Directions to the Government," to support the production of domestic milk and dairy products and increase the Government's support to the sector" was reported to the Standing Committee on Industrialization Policy of the State Great Khural on the 9th of this month.

According to the report by Deputy Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry M.Gankhuleg, currently, 63.2 percent of milk and dairy products are sourced domestically, and the rest are imported from abroad. He mentioned that efforts are being made to increase and continue providing incentives for milk. Initially, the milk incentive applied only to cow's milk, but starting from November of last year, it has been extended to all types of milk. As of today, MNT 1000 is given for 1.0 liter of milk to 24 factories and workshops in 10 aimags. As part of the "Food Revolution" program initiated by President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, 22 types of equipment for the production of milk and dairy products were exempted from customs duties. In 2023, loans for circulating capital and investment were granted to more than 1,800 enterprises in the food industry through 10 commercial banks. The five-year loans with a 6.0 percent interest rate for the purpose of establishing intensive dairy farming have been allocated to 49 citizens and enterprises totaling MNT 5.6 billion out of the budgeted MNT 34 billion. Additionally, loans totaling MNT 18.8 billion were granted to eight enterprises for the construction of baby milk and formula processing plants.

In connection with the presentation on the implementation of Resolution No. 07, members of the State Great Khural asked questions. To increase the supply of liquid milk to national industries, Member of the State Great Khural J.Batjargal spoke about the development of intensive farming in agricultural areas, milk collection, the development of high-yielding animals, improvement of breeds, and production of import-substitute products. Meanwhile, Member of the State Great Khural Ts.Tuvaan mentioned that the milk incentive has been effectively implemented since 2020 and stated that it is necessary to extend the incentive period to increase the milk supply in the cool season.

G.Ganbold, Member of the State Great Khural and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Industrialization Policy touched on the inclusion of incentives for locally operating dairy factories and workshops. He warned that it would be impossible to monitor if the incentives were flattened and advised that the regulations should be improved in more detail.

Subsequently, at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Industrial Policy, information was presented about the implementation of the directions given by the Standing Committee on optimizing the financial structure of the state to support small and medium-sized industries, increasing resources, expanding the market, and increasing sales. The Ministry has studied the international experience of the modern financial structure and system for supporting small and medium-sized industries and has developed a proposal for the establishment of a Small and Medium-sized Industry Corporation, submitting it to the relevant departments.

As part of the '10-billion program to protect health and recover the economy' related to supporting jobs a total of MNT 2.0 trillion was provided to 25,000 borrowers in the small and medium industry sector, protecting 110,000 jobs, said Deputy Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry M.Gankhuleg. The Government's implementing agency, the Department of Small and Medium Enterprises, granted MNT 88 billion in loans from 2020 to 2023. Additionally, the Government approved the decision to exempt new equipment from customs duty until the end of 2026 to update the technology of small and medium enterprises. As a result of the establishment of working groups in four aimags in charge of ensuring the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain of mining companies and major projects, the sales in 2023 reached MNT 4.6 billion in the four aimags while nationwide procurement was more than MNT 200 million in 2019.

Members of the State Great Khural, namely N.Naranbaatar, J.Batjargal, and T.Aubakir, posed questions and made statements related to the implementation of the resolution by the Standing Committee. They articulated their positions on the stability of cooperation between large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises, the repayment status of loans and financing, the enhancement of the loan guarantee system for small and medium-sized enterprises, the augmentation of resources, encouragement of repayment through interest discounts, and the development of small and medium production clusters.

G.Ganbold, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Industrial Policy, advised paying attention to the "10-billion program" and the repayment of loans to small and medium enterprises.

Mongolia’s parliamentary election in June 2024 will be a pivotal moment for the country’s democracy. The newly enlarged legislative branch hopes to strengthen the country’s multi-party governance, but there is still a certain level of instability in the electoral system and low voter representation.

The 2024 elections will be the first since the recent constitutional amendment in May 2023, which increased the number of parliamentary seats from 76 to 126, with 48 of those chosen by proportional representation.

Preparations are underway to implement those changes. In December, Mongolia’s electoral districts were shuffled and merged, reducing the number of districts from 29 to 13. As a result, the next parliament will be able to focus on regional and national development rather than local election district-based interests. Another hope is that the expanded 126-seat legislature may create more opportunities for parties to include female candidates as part of the institutionalization in political parties.

However, there are noteworthy nuances to this change that pose a couple of challenges for Mongolia’s multi-party election system.

For example, under existing law, election campaigns can only occur within a designated 14-day period. That is made more challenging with larger districts, but it cannot be changed at this point, as election law cannot be altered six months before elections.

One major issue in that regard is the cost of campaigning. For a large district, such a short campaign timeframe will increase the cost of election campaigns. Moreover, in larger districts, candidates will need more time and energy to connect with voters. In this case, disabled people, people who live in remote areas, and other disadvantaged groups are likely to get left behind.

Given the 14-day campaign, even basic introductions will be difficult to achieve, let alone fostering real chances for voters to ask questions about a candidate’s agenda. This also presents an additional challenge for newer and younger candidates to stand out in comparison to previously established politicians.

For example, voters in some districts will have to choose between 100 and 300 candidates for 10 seats. Voters will most likely struggle to find enough reliable information about parties and candidates in 14 short days. Social media campaigning will play a major role in this election, as the younger generation is spending most of their time on social media.

Unfortunately, since Mongolia’s democratization in 1992, abrupt political changes have become a tradition. These changes have impacted proportionality as well as the women’s quota.

The Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (now the Mongolian People’s Party) held 92.1 percent of the parliament seats in 1992, 94.7 percent in 2000, and 59.2 percent in 2008.

The 2008 parliament built a coalition government consisting of 45 MPP legislators, 28 DP legislators, and three independents. It introduced a mixed electoral system, which was used for the 2012 election. That poll was an exception; it made significant advances in the representation of women, with the election of 11 female deputies, and extending voter rights to Mongolian nationals living abroad.

This system was only used once, however. The parliament changed the system shortly before the 2016 election to a single candidate elected from a single district. The electoral districts were then gerrymandered. Mongolia returned to block voting in 2020. Both of the next two elections gave the MPP supermajorities and significantly increased disproportionality. For example, in the 2016 election the MPP won 85.5 percent of seats with just 46.5 percent of votes.

As a result of these abrupt electoral changes, the MPP ruled for 24 of 32 years and was elected with a supermajority in both 2016 and 2020. Since 1992, the Democratic Party has only had a bare majority twice, after the 1996 and 2012 elections.

The Democratic Party’s dismal losses in the 2016 and 2020 elections were an eye-opener for the party. The recent shuffling and the changes in party structure have helped the party to restructure and reunite party members while welcoming new, younger faces.

Besides frequent electoral changes, another worrying trend in Mongolian parliamentary elections is decreasing voter representation. The 2023 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report on youth participation in electoral processes highlighted the importance of “promoting the participation of a diversity of young people during elections,” which includes mechanisms to expand opportunities for youth with disabilities to be informed and inclusive in voter representation.

In Mongolia’s case, young people have a negative perception of politics. Ongoing corruption cases – such as those involving the “coal mafia,” missing education loans, development banks, small-and-medium enterprise loans, and the latest, the green bus fiasco – encircle political figures. This can explain why the younger generation remains disillusioned with and disinterested in politics.

At the same time, without the participation of young people, the older generation remains in power and the interest groups stay intact. Mongolia’s fundamental challenge in the upcoming political scene is the weakly institutionalized political parties. The struggle for power and resources within parties is the primary factor that breeds corruption and prevents policy rationale.

The recent enlargement of the legislative branch, while embracing progressive agendas, also aimed at strengthening the political parties’ credibility and raise accountability for party members and their electable profiles. The hope with the enlarged legislative body is that political parties themselves are responsible for promoting more female candidates and implementing equality and other social measures.

Multiparty governance, in theory and practice, must result in more balanced economic policies, less controlled media, greater support for the middle class, and less corruption. On a civil society level, multiparty governance should provide a favorable environment for the protection of human rights, greater control over public institutions and the public budget, transparency, and visible progress toward the consolidation of democracy. Every election in Mongolia serves as a reminder that the democratic revolution of the 1990s was a choice, not a miracle.

BY: Bolor Lkhaajav

Bolor Lkhaajav is a researcher specializing in Mongolia, China, Russia, Japan, East Asia, and the Americas. She holds an M.A. in Asia-Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco.

Enkhbaigali Byambasuren

Enkhbaigali Byambasuren is a professor, researcher, and former adviser to the President of Mongolia.

Abnormally cold weather will persist in most of Mongolia, the National Agency for Meteorology, Hydrology, and Environmental Monitoring reported on Tuesday.

Temperatures will drop to -38°C in some places from January 13.

Mongolia's National Emergency Management Agency urged drivers to be careful on rural roads due to heavy snowstorms and zero visibility, and nomadic herders to take extra precautions on pastures.

The air temperature during Mongolian winters can vary from -25°C to -45°C.

Steppe Gold Ltd announced that it has entered into a turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Hexagon Build Engineering LLC for the Phase 2 Expansion at the ATO Gold Mine in Mongolia.

The precious metals producer said the contract amount payable to Hexagon for the full performance of the work under the EPC contract is approximately USD 148.4 million, which is fully funded by a USD 150 million project finance package that has been made available to the company and its affiliates by TDB Capital Pte Ltd and certain of its affiliates, along with the Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia.

Steppe Gold noted the Phase 2 Expansion is estimated to be complete by the end of 2025 and commence commercial production by 2026.

It added that Phase 2 is expected to increase the company’s production from 30,000 to over 100,000 ounces per annum for 12 years at approximately USD 900 per ounce gold equivalent and is anticipated to produce over 1.2 million ounces of gold equivalent on a recovered basis.

The ATO Gold Mine has produced over 100,000 ounces of gold and generated over USD 185 million in gross revenue, with a further anticipated 65,000 ounces until the end of 2025, according to the company.

Steppe Gold is Mongolia’s premier precious metals producer, with about 4.5 million gold equivalent ounces in resources.

Minister of Road and Transport Development S. Byambatsogt received Kitanaka Takefumi, CEO of "New Ulaanbaatar International Airport" LLC, and exchanged views on increasing the capacity of Chinggis Khaan International Airport and transferring domestic flights to Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport.

Minister S. Byambatsogt highlighted, “Chinggis Khaan International Airport is a symbol in relations between Mongolia and Japan. However, there are a lot of complaints from the citizens about the insufficient number of registration desks and long waits for passenger luggage. We plan to receive 2 million 200 thousand passengers this year, so we need to focus on reducing complications and obstacles by adding registration desks and improving management for quickly handing over luggage. Also, domestic flight destinations have been increased to nine from last July, which was three. Domestic flights are mostly served by the elderly, mothers with infants and young children, and people with disabilities. Therefore, we propose to move domestic flights to "Buyant-Ukhaa" International Airport to ensure the interests and comfort of its citizens.”

Kitanaka Takefumi, CEO of "New Ulaanbaatar International Airport" LLC, noted, “Certain works have been carried out to expand the conveyor belt for luggage and increase the space. We will continue to work following our plan. The number of registration desks was increased from 16 to 18. There will be 20 registration desks by next May. We are also studying the possibility of using domestic flight registration desks for international flights. We are focusing on improving the quality of our services and ensuring that all employees of the public and private sector airlines are dedicated to their work and being responsible.”

The Ministry of Road Transport Development reported that at the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to take necessary measures to increase the airport’s capacity and transfer domestic flights.

The number and frequency of flights have increased by 2-3 times, and air passengers reached 1 million 750 thousand in 2023 as a result of achievements made in transport liberalization within the Government’s ‘New Revival Policy’. Out of 400,000 passengers served by domestic flights last year, 340,000 were on "Oyutolgoi" flights.

Translated by Sainzaya Davaajamts