On December 5, 2019, Gazprom and the Government of Mongolia signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The document provides for a joint assessment of the feasibility of pipeline gas supplies from Russia to China across Mongolia.

If the visit goes as planned, then G.Zandanshatar will have to be quarantined for 14 days after returning, which would be highly disruptive for the next session.

According to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, 5500 tons of hay and 3000 tons of fodder are needed for overcoming harsh spring conditions. As of today, there are 5862 tons of hay and 4134 tons of fodder in total kept at the reserves of aimags and soums; thus, there will not be any interruption in the supply of the hay and fodder.

By the end of February, 39 soums of eight aimags in the country are suffering white ‘dzud’, while 47 soums of 12 aimags are likely to suffer the dzud. As of February 29, about 60 percent of the country’s territory have been blanketed with snow, of which regions of Altai, Khangai, Arkhangai, Uvurkhangai, Selenge and Khentii mountains are covered with over 20cm thick snow.

The top 10 risks identified by global mining and metals companies include commodity price, permitting, access to capital, community relations and social license to operate, political instability, economic downturn/uncertainty, regulatory and compliance changes & environmental risks, global trade war, ability to access and replace reserves and tailings management.

Three-quarters of mining companies indicated that the industry needs to redefine success using more holistic metrics that include social values, community stakeholders, health, safety, and long-term development, the report found.

“The bottom line is no longer the only gauge of success,” said Katherine Wetmore, Partner, Energy and Natural Resources, KPMG Canada. “The priority is to demonstrate greater transparency and accountability related to sustainable and responsible mining practices.”

Australian companies are most concerned about climate change, including natural disasters and global trade wars, while Brazilian and US companies noted community relations and social license to operate among their top three risks.

Canada was the only country where mining companies identified access to capital among their top three risks.

According to the report, almost 60% of companies believe that access to traditional sources of financing has deteriorated, and nearly 70% say new business models are needed, such as strategic partnerships, private equity, and public private partnerships.

“With the traditional public mining company model becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, companies are looking at joint ventures and partnerships as important objectives for growth,” said Wetmore.

“But, even more importantly, we’re seeing a growing recognition from mining companies to be more innovative and use technology to help them become more productive and efficient and to achieve longer term sustainable growth.”

The largest companies – worth over $10 billion – said they do not feel the need to merge and can rely on technology, organic growth, and talent to grow their organizations.

Companies identified organic growth through exploration and capital investment, together with innovation and technology transformation as their two most-important growth objectives for their organization.

Yet, the OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) base-case scenario is that the outbreak would peak in China in Q1 2020 and outbreaks in other countries are mild and contained. In this event, global growth could be just 0.5 percent lower in 2020 compared to the projections the OECD made in November 2019, the organization said in its Interim Economic Assessment today.

In this scenario, “annual global GDP growth is projected to drop to 2.4% in 2020 as a whole, from an already weak 2.9% in 2019, with growth possibly even being negative in the first quarter of 2020,” OECD said.

However, if the outbreak lasts longer and spreads throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, this would materially weaken the global economy, with growth possibly dropping to just 1.5 percent in 2020, half the rate projected before the outbreak.

The coronavirus outbreak has significantly weakened near-term global economic prospects, but the OECD still sees a ‘contained outbreak’ as the base-case scenario.

However, the organization warns that downside risks remain significant and urged governments “to act swiftly and forcefully to overcome the coronavirus and its economic impact.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned last month that China’s growth could drop to 5.6 percent this year due to the coronavirus, down by 0.4 percentage points compared to the January estimate, while global growth would be about 0.1 percentage points lower than previous estimates.

“But we are also looking at more dire scenarios where the spread of the virus continues for longer and more globally, and the growth consequences are more protracted,” the IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.

As more and more countries started reporting coronavirus cases last week, oil prices plunged by 14 percent in a week as market participants fear a significant global economic slowdown and, by extension, weak global oil demand.

In a response to a question in Japan's parliament, Seiko Hashimoto said Tokyo's contract with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "calls for the Games to be held within 2020".

She added that "could be interpreted as allowing a postponement".

The Games are due to be held from 24 July to 9 August.

"We are doing all we can to ensure that the Games go ahead as planned," Hashimoto added.

Under the hosting agreement the right to cancel the Games remains with the IOC.

IOC president Thomas Bach says his organisation remains "very confident with regard the success" of the Games in Tokyo.

"I would like to encourage all the athletes to continue their preparations with great confidence and full steam," added the German.

A number of high-profile sporting events have already been cancelled or postponed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, including the World Athletics Indoor Athletics Championships and the Chinese Grand Prix, which was scheduled for 19 April.

Coronavirus, which originated in China, has spread to more than 60 countries and claimed more than 3,000 lives so far.

The IOC executive board met in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday and in a statement "expressed its full commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 taking place from 24 July to 9 August".

It said a "joint task force" was started in mid-February, involving the IOC, Tokyo 2020 organisers, the host city of Tokyo, the government of Japan and the World Health Organization.

The executive board added that it "appreciates and supports the measures being taken, which constitute an important part of Tokyo's plans to host safe and secure Games".

"We will continue to support the athletes and their NOCs with regular updates of information, which we will provide," Bach added

A photo exhibition showcasing the natural landscape, culture and tradition of Mongolia as well as presentations on Mongolia’s history and social and economic state were held during the event. Moreover, Mongolian students in Cuba delivered cultural performance for the Cuban audience at the event.

The event was also attended by representatives from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina.

Cuba established diplomatic relations with Mongolia on 7 December 1960, becoming the first country from the South America to establish diplomatic ties with Mongolia.

The Commission also decided to lift the suspension of traffic movements between Ulaanbaatar and 21 provinces on March 3 at 6 a.m. and deploy over 130 more officials of emergency, specialized inspection, and health care services including medical teams of the National Center for Communicable Diseases at seven entrance and exit points of Ulaanbaatar.

From March 2-30, the Mongolian citizens arriving from South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy, those travelling across Russia, will use the Buyant-Ukhaa, Sukhbaatar, and Altanbulag border checkpoints only.