Mongolia’s Government’s budget shrinks by over 10 percent www.news.mn

The coronavirus crisis has hit commodity-dependent countries hard as economic lockdowns have shattered global demand for their exports.

Mongolian elected as a member of the IOC www.news.mn

Battushig Batbold has been elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee on July 17th, 2020 this is an extraordinary event in Mongolia’s sports history from every angle. After almost five decades, a Mongolian national was elected as a full standing member of IOC once more. General Secretary of Mongolian National Olympic Committee, 2008 Beijing Olympic Champion Badar-Uugan Enkhbat stated that “Undoubtedly, his election will be a boost in promoting sports in Mongolia by bringing potentially more investment, sponsorship and events.” IOC membership is once in a life time achievement that many cannot reach.

Battushig has started his journey in the Olympic community in 2015. He was first elected as a President of Mongolia’s Badminton Federation followed by his nomination and election to be a council member of Badminton World Federation. This was the first time a Mongolian national being elected to an executive position of an international sports federation. After being actively involved in the Olympic community, in 2017 he was elected First Vice President of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee becoming the youngest person to hold this position in Mongolia. The following year, he was appointed as member of the Marketing Commission of IOC and re-elected again in 2020. Battushig’s interest in sports has a long history. In school he was captain of his high school basketball team in Seattle at the Northwest School. When he studied at University of Chicago, School of Economics he dreamt of playing professional basketball and would become best friends with one of the Chicago Bulls players of the time, Luol Deng. Luol also an international figure originally from South Sudan has long term friendship with Battushig, where both have contributed to sports and basketball development through their foundations. Battushig’s father founded and sponsored one of the first professional basketball teams in Mongolia in the 1990’s, Altain Burgeduud (Altain Eagles), after their family company name of Altai Holding. Battushig has continued the support and development of this team even as it goes to different leagues in the country. Currently Battushig’s father Batbold occasionaly plays in the Master’s league, for seniors players. After working as an analyst in Morgan Stanley and graduating Harvard Business School Battushig came back to Mongolia and headed his family business, Altai Holding.

Currently, he serves as a Chairman of Altai Holding, one of leading business groups in Mongolia, Emart Mongolia, one of the most successful and innovative retail chains and Skytel Group, a pioneer in telecom and media industry. In the span of just four years, Emart has opened three hypermarkets introducing international standards of service, sourcing and quality. It became second largest retail chain in Mongolia in this brief period of time. The company has created over 1000 jobs directly and created growth opportunities for local small medium businesses in meat processing, milk and dairy, green produce and many other areas. Altai Holding as a group employs over 1800 people and contributes over 20 billion Tugrug in taxes and fees to state and local budget. All of its holding companies are ranked each year in the TOP-100 companies of Mongolia identified by Chamber of Commerce where industry leaders are positioned in terms of taxes paid, number of employees, social contribution and environmental practices. Battushig’s father, Batbold Sukhbaatar, was the 26th Prime Minister of Mongolia in 2009 until 2012 and Chairman of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party. After Mongolia started a transition from the one-party authoritarian rule to market economy and democracy, he was one of the first Mongolians to start a private business and grow it to a large corporation before entering politics.

As Prime Minister and Chair of the governing party he initiated introduction of Cambridge International Education Standards to public schools in Mongolia, reform of the stock exchange and its cooperation with London Stock Exchange, adoption of European technical and governance standards among many other things. The family values development of the country, contribution to sports and arts as well as the youth of the country. No doubt Battushig has continued this legacy well so far as he starts a bigger journey

5G wars: China could sanction Nokia & Ericsson in response to EU ban on Huawei www.rt.com

Beijing is considering sanctions against two major European telecoms-equipment manufacturers, should EU members follow the lead of the US and UK in barring China’s Huawei from 5G networks, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
According to the WSJ’s sources, China’s Ministry of Commerce is mulling export controls that would prevent Nokia and Ericsson from sending products it makes in China to other countries. One source added that the measures may be applied only in the event of a worst-case scenario in which European countries prohibit the use of equipment from Chinese suppliers to create 5G.

India learning valuable lessons from Mongolia www.news.mn

A noteworthy example in this regard comes from Mongolia’s mining industry, a sector which has received significant concessions as part of India’s recent economic package. To respond to the economic crisis arising from the pandemic, the Indian government has announced a package of investments totalling at least 10 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Mongolia has globally significant biodiversity, mainly grasslands in its Eastern Steppes and the Gobi Desert. With 40 percent of the Mongolian population living as nomadic herders, the grasslands support livelihoods and traditional lifestyles as well.

In 2008-09 when the government of Mongolia wanted to open up its mining sector for investments, it looked for ways in which it could find balanced solutions. It worked with civil society (The Nature Conservancy) on a land-planning approach called “Development by Design (DbD)”. The results of this effort speak for themselves today: as a result of this work, Mongolia created 39 new protected areas in its eastern grasslands. And yet, the country’s mining sector has continued to grow, accounting for 23 per cent of the country’s GDP today!

Mongolia has since replicated this land planning process in the Gobi Desert, as well as its northern and western regions, creating a seamless land-use plan that is leading to the creation of 177,000 square kilometres of new areas that are demarcated as protected areas, while keeping nearly as much land available for mining, on par with the investments in protected areas.

Mongolia’s ‘Development by Design’ approach entailed working collaboratively with businesses such as the Rio Tinto mining corporation, local communities and civil society to scientifically identify areas where mining could take place; areas that should be off-limits for mining because of their ecological or local community values; and areas that if used for mining, would require the impact to be offset. Companies mining in this third category were required to make financial contributions towards “offsets,” which could be utilised to restore degraded sites or develop and implement management plans for the newly established protected areas.

All of this was laid out in an EIA law that the Mongolian government passed. A key component of this law was a national mitigation design tool that equipped companies to both identify areas in which mining was permitted, and not, as well as areas where it was permitted with payment towards “offsets.” The tool also helped the companies calculate the offset price which was based on the impact of their mining activities measured in terms of area, magnitude and duration of impact on the biodiversity values.

While India already has many well-established protected areas, they are insufficient for conserving the country’s wildlife and ensuring the environmental balance for the country. It is indeed important for India to conserve the corridors between the protected areas if the local communities and wild creatures are to thrive into the future. However, the pertinent lesson from Mongolia is not that India needs more protected areas, but that it is possible to find win-win approaches that balance development with the environment and promote ease of doing business without compromising on the environment.

Rather than shying away from doing business in Mongolia because of its EIA law, mining corporations have been happy because the law provides them with businesses certainty around their investments. The chief advisor for biodiversity and ecosystem services for Rio Tinto, for example, has stated that a tool like Development by Design allows companies to assess the pros and cons of individual investments and avoid unnecessary risks.

Mongolia National Day - Greeting by Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State (USA) www.mn.usembassy.gov

On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I extend my best wishes to the people of Mongolia on the opening of the Naadam festival on July 11.

Mongolia to go ahead with Naadam festival, but with no tourists www.intellinews.com

By Milena Mendes in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia July 9, 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has played hell with the international event calendar everywhere this year. Football tournaments have been nixed. The Munich beer festival called off. And the 32nd Summer Olympics, initially scheduled to take place in Tokyo between July and August of this year, has been cancelled. After much discussion the International Olympic Committee said sports fans will have to wait another year to see its streets flooded by tourists coming from all over the world to participate in the biggest sports event in the world.

But not in Mongolia, which has decided to go ahead with its own mini-Olympics: Naadam, Mongolia’s biggest festival, where the population come together every year to compete in the Three Manly Games: wrestling, archery and horse riding, which starts this weekend.

Naadam brings in tourists from all over the world during the three day-long summer games that celebrate the anniversaries of the Foundation of the First Mongolian Sate, the founding of the Great Mongol Empire, and the Mongolian People’s Revolution of 1921. Despite the current pandemic, the event will neither be postponed, as its date is an official Government calendar holiday, nor cancelled. But there have been some adjustments made for this year’s edition.

Though the biggest events take place in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, including concerts and performances at Sukhbaatar Square, the central square where the Mongolian Parliament House is located, cultural festivals are celebrated throughout the country. Naadam might be a centuries-old tradition in its different forms and editions, but it is still a huge part of modern Mongolian culture. For the approximate 3mn natives, it is also a chance to reconnect with families, friends and old acquaintances as Mongolians ride into the capital on this occasion, which is as much about keeping in touch with extended family as a sports event – a nomad’s version of Thanksgiving.

Naadam starts on July 11 with a months-long planned opening ceremony that involves synchronised performances with hundreds of volunteers telling stories about some events of the Mongolian history, featuring dancers, musicians and monks. Two of the greatest moments involve a speech addressed by the President, and paying respect to the Nine White Banners – a type of flag pole adorned with horse tail hair hanging from a circular base in the superior part, with a sort of fork-looking piece on the top of the pole that represents a flame. A tradition initiated by Genghis Khan, the Mongol khans would place banners outside their yurts as a symbol of times of peace. Currently the Nine White Banners also symbolise eternity and great power, and they are kept in the Parliament house, being taken out only for very special occasions, such as the Naadam’s opening ceremony in a procession followed by many others over about three kilometres to the National Stadium.

The Naadam Organising Committee members have decided to go ahead with the ceremony but with some concessions to the pandemic: the performances will happen simultaneously in different locations and be live-streamed on television and via the internet to keep crowd sizes down. The provision of trade and services has also been forbidden around the Central Stadium, which will hit the traditional food tents and are a big part of the festival.

The main traditional dishes of the country comprise of a sort of noodles with meat and some vegetables, called tsuivan, which is either Mongolian or Chinese in origin (no one can agree), as well as flour and meat based steamed or fried dumplings called buuz and huushuur respectively. The latter is the big star of Naadam, but also eaten throughout the year as a popular cheap and fast food.

However, the competition in all three of the traditional disciplines will still take place as usual, except every participant must first have been tested for the COVID-19. The Committee said that “officials will be assigned to check temperatures and enforce the safety rules during the tournaments,” officials said as cited by local media.

The Three Manly games

It is the colourful traditional costumes that make Nadaam special. The dress-like outfits reflect the ancient and modern countryside styles. Belted by a broad sash called a deel, the upper part works as a big pocket in which horsemen and herders can put their tools, freeing their hands for the work in the field before returning to their yurts, also called gers. Nowadays there are infinite styles of deels, for both genders and all ages and at a vast range of prices. They are mostly used on special occasions, such as for wedding and graduation ceremonies, Tsagaan Sar, as well as for Naadam.

But it is the three manly games that draw the crowds from all over the world. When Genghis Khan united the people of the steppe in the 13th century horse riding became an essential part of Mongolia’s culture. Riding lessons begin at five years old, and children master their skills until they take part in the Naadam race with hundreds of other children – a rite of passage.

Where Mongolian wrestling differs from the international free wrestling is the fact that the competitors weight is not taken into consideration. There are many different titles for the wrestlers, such as Titan, Lion, Elephant and Falcon – all meaning strength. These vary according to the numbers of wins over succeeding fights, especially during Naadam. The Nadaam champions can win cars, apartments, or large amounts of money.

And archery began as a weapon, but the Mongolians soon realised archery was also a way to express their strength allied to precision. For official tournaments, the target is placed at a distance of 75 metres for men and 60 metres for women, who can compete both individually or in teams of eight to 12 people.

Absent tourists

Despite these precautions the biggest change to the event this year will be the absence of foreign tourists. The Naadam week is the biggest week in the country’s tourist season, but this year tourism has dropped to next to nothing.

In the first four months of 2019 the tourism sector achieved $73.3mn in revenue, but this year it only registered $20.9mn, according to the Mongolian National Statistics Office. Out of the total decrease in the exports of services in the first quarter of 2020, almost $24.7mn, tourism services accounted for more than half (54.7%).

In the first quarter of 2020, the total revenue from accommodation services reached MNT35.3bn ($12.5mn), and the revenue of food services attained MNT102.9bn ($36.5mn), respectively 42.9% and 2.6% decreases compared to the same period of last year. In 2019 restaurants and hotels had a combined revenue of MNT766.6bn, equivalent to over $270mn.

According to CEIC Data, Mongolia registered 577,300 foreign visitors in 2019, a increase of 10% compared to the previous year. The Chinese led the charts in the first quarter of 2019, making up 39.6% of the total number of tourists in Mongolia. Secondly came the Russians (36.8%), followed by South Koreans (10.7%). For the same period this year, Russians increased their share to half (51.5%), while China and South Koreans fell to 20% and 14.4% respectively. Visitors from Kazakhstan, the fourth country in the list, have remained roughly the same, accounting for 3% and 3.9% in the reported periods.

China is just across the southern border, so Mongolia was exposed to and aware of the spreading epidemic from the start. The government started taking preventive measures early on, in order to keep the virus from spreading through its very small population, of which half live in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. In January, after children had only been back at school for a week after the winter break, the government shut the schools and switched to online and distance learning via TV.

A few weeks later, the Lunar New Year (Tsagaan Sar) public celebrations were suspended and families were strongly recommended to cancel big family gatherings, when traditionally the younger members travel all around the country to visit their older relatives and pay them their respects.

In February, international flights were suspended and still are. Since then, foreign residents who wanted to go home could only do so in the few chartered flights to locations with a large Mongolian population, who wanted to be repatriated. The land borders with Russia and China were also closed to travellers, but not goods.

The fast action of the government paid off. The first confirmed COVID-19 infection was only announced on March 10, brought into the country by a French citizen. Three months later the country now has had 215 reported cases, though there are no reports of local transmission, and so far, not a single death.

Hoping to keep things this way, the Government intends to maintain the country in lockdown until a vaccine is found, according to an announcement made by Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa on May 25. Currently there are no public plans to reopen the borders or restart international commercial flights.

Federation Council approves ratification of Mongolian-Russian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation at its plenary meeting on July 8 approved the bill on the ratification of the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Mongolia and the Russian Federation, signed by the heads of state of Mongolia and Russia on September 3, 2019, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official visit to Mongolia at the invitation of President Kh.Battulga.

German President extends Naadam greetings to Mongolian President www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier has sent a letter of greetings to President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga on the occasion of the Mongolian National Holiday – Naadam Festival.

President orders to expand repatriation to bring back Mongolians from abroad www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga today received some members of the cabinet and officials to discuss about the issue of repatriation of Mongolian nationals stranded abroad because of the COVID-19-related border closures to all nationals, and instructed them to expand the current repatriation process.

Pregnant woman in quarantine gives birth to baby boy www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Director of the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) D.Nyamkhuu provided an updated information on COVID-19 situation in Mongolia during today’s press briefing of the Ministry of Health.