The average weighted interest rate of newly disbursed mortgage loans decreased by 1.0 percentage points from the previous year.

In February, 2020, the BoM branches in Darkhan-Uul and Bayankhongor aimags bought 16 kg and 18 kg respectively. The average value of BoM’s purchase of 1 gram of gold was MNT 140,292.94 in February, 2020.

At the meeting, it was decided to lift the suspension of traffic movements between Ulaanbaatar and 21 aimags 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.

As it is estimated that more than 40 thousand citizens by around 14 thousand vehicles will come back to the capital city after the suspension is lifted, the Commission plans to set up local first aid posts every 50 km along state highways to prevent possible accidents.

It was also decided to export coal in sealed containers through Zamyn-Uud border checkpoint; increase the number of beds at quarantine facilities by 250 in total as a precautionary measure; suspend flights on Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar and Ulaanbaatar - Ulan-Ude - Ulaanbaatar routes from March 2 to March 11; ban entry to foreign nationals who have traveled to South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Iran within the last 14 days; allow Mongolians to return from South Korea and Japan through Buyant-Ukhaa, Sukhbaatar, and Altanbulag border checkpoints only; and put Mongolians coming from the abovementioned four countries in 14-day quarantine upon arrival;

“The project will promote income and employment generation in rural areas,” said ADB Senior Natural Resources Economist Jan Hinrichs. “This will be achieved by diversifying traditional low-value grain crops into high-value vegetables.”

Agriculture has become a priority for growth in Mongolia, in line with the government’s focus to accelerate economic diversification and job creation. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in rural areas, but is not sufficiently diversified and relies heavily on imports for vegetables and fodder. In 2008–2016, only about half of the country’s vegetable demand was met by domestic production. Meanwhile, the country’s irrigation systems are recognized as having low water productivity and lacking resilience to severe droughts and floods.

The project aims to install efficient and climate-resilient irrigation infrastructure and management systems, improve sustainability of agriculture production systems, and strengthen technical, institutional, and management capacity and coordination.

Specifically, the project will upgrade, modernize, and climate-proof 12 selected schemes along with directly associated infrastructure to provide irrigation services for 7,000 hectares of land. A total of 3,458 households are expected to benefit, including 1,041 poor households.

The project design introduces innovative features such as high-efficiency irrigation technology in cold regions, summer and winter greenhouses, and an easy-to-use asset management system with remote-sensing technology. Such technology will help detect irrigation performance and resolve problems immediately.

The total cost of the project is $46.25 million, of which ADB is providing a concessional loan of $25.3 million and a regular loan of $14.7 million. The government will provide $4.25 million towards the project cost.

ADB will administer a $2 million cofinancing grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), which has supported projects in Mongolia in poverty alleviation, improving livelihoods, and safeguarding the environment over the past 20 years. JPFR is funded by the Government of Japan.

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.

Around 50 thousand Mongolians are currently living in European countries, 48 thousand in South Korea, and 14 thousand in Japan. 6,200 citizens booked flights to return to Mongolia in the near future after the suspension of flights to and from South Korea is lifted and about 500 individuals will fly from Tokyo to Ulaanbaatar when the air travel suspension to and from Japan comes into an end.

In response to an official request by the Mongolian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan instructed the immigration departments of its 47 prefectures to extend J type visas of Mongolian nationals in Japan by 15 to 30 days

At the meeting, it was decided to lift the suspension of traffic movements between Ulaanbaatar and 21 aimags 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.

As it was estimated that more than 40 thousand citizens by around 14 thousand vehicles will come back to the capital city after the suspension is lifted, the Commission plans to set up local first aid posts every 50 km along state highways to prevent possible accidents.

It was also decided to export coal in sealed containers through Zamyn-Uud border checkpoint; increase the number of beds at quarantine facilities by 250 in total as a precautionary measure; suspend flights on Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar and Ulaanbaatar - Ulan-Ude - Ulaanbaatar routes from March 2 to March 11; ban entry to foreign nationals coming from South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Iran; allow Mongolians to return from South Korea and Japan through Buyant-Ukhaa, Sukhbaatar, and Altanbulag border checkpoints only; and put Mongolians coming from the abovementioned four countries in 14-day quarantine upon arrival;