Rio Tinto reaches power supply deal with Mongolia for Oyu Tolgoi mine www.reuters.com

June 29 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto Ltd said on Monday it had reached an agreement with Mongolia to domestically supply power to its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine through a state-owned coal-fired power plant at Tavan Tolgoi.

Russia Wants to Keep Mongolia in Its Place www.foreignpolicy.com

On June 24, Russia held a massive military parade, technically to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E) Day—delayed for over a month due to COVID-19—but also to provide a suitably militaristic backdrop for voting in the constitutional referendum that will conclude next week, paving the way for the extension of Vladimir Putin’s presidency until at least 2036.

On the same day, Mongolia held its regular, democratic parliamentary elections.

Now these two unrelated events have triggered an uncharacteristic diplomatic row between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar that highlights Russia’s self-defeating propensity to bully its neighbors and Mongolia’s rapidly shrinking room for maneuver as it faces pressure from both Moscow and Beijing. Mongolia, a robust democracy in a deeply authoritarian neighborhood, faces a difficult future as its two giant neighbors and former imperial overlords, China and Russia, seek to reorder Eurasia in their image.Mongolia, a robust democracy in a deeply authoritarian neighborhood, faces a difficult future as its two giant neighbors and former imperial overlords, China and Russia, seek to reorder Eurasia in their image.
The latest row erupted when the Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB) scrapped plans to air the Russian parade in a live broadcast. It had originally planned to show the parade, partly because the Mongolian government resolved to send a small detachment of soldiers to march in the spectacle in a gesture of respect for Russia. But realizing that the rescheduled parade would coincide with the Mongolian election, MNB decided to pull the broadcast, citing concerns over perceptions of election day bias.

The Russian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar lashed out against this decision in a mean-tempered public post on its Facebook page, accusing MNB of an “aberration of vision” and even subservience to Western interests: “Perhaps the MNB board of directors inadvertently joined … a whole campaign of accusing Russia of electoral interference nearly everywhere in the world?”

The remarks caused a storm of controversy. In a letter sent to Russian Ambassador Iskander Azizov, MNB Director Luvsandashiin Ninjjamts called the embassy’s remarks “clearly insulting” and demanded an official apology. Former Mongolian Prime Minister Sanjaagiin Bayar, who had also served in Russia as Mongolia’s ambassador, likened the embassy’s outburst to the old practice of Soviet ambassadors dictating to their host governments what they should and should not do.

Mongolians know a thing or two about Soviet interference. The country became a Soviet satellite 20 years before the same fate befell the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In the 1930s, the Soviets—and their Mongolian puppets, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party—slaughtered tens of thousands of people in anti-religious campaigns and waves of political repression.In the 1930s, the Soviets—and their Mongolian puppets, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party—slaughtered tens of thousands of people in anti-religious campaigns and waves of political repression.
Among the victims was Mongolian Prime Minister Peljidiin Genden, who had the nerve to quarrel with Joseph Stalin. (He is rumored to have smashed the Soviet dictator’s pipe to pieces in one nasty altercation.) He was sent to Moscow and executed by the Soviets in 1937. His successor, Anandyn Amar, suffered a similar fate. He was arrested, sent to the Soviet Union, and executed there in 1941.

This bloodbath led to the premiership of Khorloogiin Choibalsan, also known as Mongolia’s Stalin, who lent himself to serving Soviet aims in Asia and was closely supervised by Ivan Ivanov, the then-Soviet plenipotentiary in Mongolia. It was on Choibalsan’s and Ivanov’s watch that Mongolia got involved in the Soviet war effort during the 1940s, sending nearly half a million horses (which proved their resilience on the front line) and sponsoring a tank brigade. Mongolia also joined the Soviets in fighting the Japanese in Manchuria in August 1945.

Choibalsan’s successor, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, was even more anxious to endear himself to his Soviet overlords, repeatedly requesting Mongolia’s annexation by the Soviet Union. (To their credit, the Soviets refused.) Tsedenbal also fought Moscow’s case tirelessly during the unfolding Sino-Soviet split. In December 1962, his ardent defense of Soviet policies in a conversation with the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai got so heated that the two nearly came to blows.

Ironically, it was the Soviets who ultimately decided to remove Tsedenbal from power in 1984, sending him to peaceful retirement in Moscow. The move was choreographed by then-up-and-coming Central Committee Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (reportedly, in part because Tsedenbal’s anti-Chinese views undercut Moscow’s interest in improving relations with Beijing).

Mongolia only shed its status as a Soviet satellite in the late 1980s. Sandwiched uncomfortably between two former empires, the country embraced its so-called “third neighbor policy,” seeking actively to develop relations with the West as a counterbalance. Mongolia also developed a robust system of democratic governance, holding regular elections (in what has become largely a two-party system) and enjoying freedoms of speech, assembly, and association in stark contrast to its two authoritarian neighbors.

For years, Ulaanbaatar has played China against Russia, Russia against China, and both against the West in a skillful balancing act that is now becoming difficult to sustain.For years, Ulaanbaatar has played China against Russia, Russia against China, and both against the West in a skillful balancing act that is now becoming difficult to sustain. Closer relations between Beijing and Moscow in recent years have constrained Mongolia. The landlocked country’s utter economic dependence on its two larger neighbors accentuates its impossible dilemma.
Mongolia’s current president, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, campaigned on a Russia-friendly platform, projecting himself as Putin’s friend. He had also made overtures to China (most recently, by inexplicably donating 30,000 sheep as Mongolia’s contribution to China’s anti-coronavirus effort) and even floated the prospect of his country joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, largely run by China and Russia.

When Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Battulga’s predecessor as president, first agreed to contribute Mongolian troops to march in the V-E parade—in 2015, for the 70th anniversary—it served as an indicator of a careful pivot in Russia’s direction. It was a move that had some support in Mongolian policy circles: Better the Russians than the Chinese, their thinking went.

But, as the Russian Embassy’s intervention demonstrates, Mongolia’s independence is not yet fully accepted in Moscow. The expectation, clearly, is that the Mongolians ultimately have no recourse: They have to swallow their pride and do as they are told because, if they don’t, let them see if they can get better treatment with China.

The embassy’s outrageous Facebook post is a part of an emerging pattern. In recent years, the Russian Foreign Ministry has pursued a much more assertive social media policy. Russian embassies have played an active part in disgraceful propaganda and trolling, in particular related to the history of World War II. This includes, for instance, posts that blame Poland for the outbreak of the war (by the Russian Embassy in Warsaw) and posts by the Russian Embassy in Tallinn praising the joys of life in Soviet-occupied Estonia.

While the purpose of these aggressive and deliberately offensive social media campaigns is far from clear, its effects are obvious: enraging the populace of the target countries and helping to foster Russia’s image as an unrepentant, aggressive, neoimperialist power. That is certainly the image the Russian Embassy has projected in Mongolia.

Unfortunately, unlike the European countries that can laugh off Russia’s trolling or perhaps take it seriously and rally in defiance of Putin’s regime, Mongolia has limited options. Moscow senses this vulnerability and will, of course, exploit it. In the long term, the very existence of an open, democratic Mongolia poses a challenge to China and RussiaIn the long term, the very existence of an open, democratic Mongolia poses a challenge to China and Russia, and for this reason the survival of democracy in the country is an open question.
Despite the row over MNB’s refusal to broadcast the parade, Mongolian troops did march on Red Square, a sign of Ulaanbaatar’s commitment to keeping its difficult northern neighbor appeased. Whether or not the embassy apologizes for the scandalous post (and it won’t), the passions will probably fizzle out in the days ahead, leaving just the bitter aftertaste—a reminder for ordinary Mongolians that in Russia’s zero-sum world, you march in unison and never, ever smash Stalin’s pipe.

Candidates in Mongolian elections face Swiss charges www.swissinfo.ch

Mongolia held parliamentary elections on June 24. Two of the candidates are currently under investigation by Swiss prosecutors, who suspect corruption linked to the granting of rights for a massive copper and gold mine in the Asian country.

Politically, the two are running in different provinces. Sangajav Bayartsogt, the former minister of finance, is representing the Democratic Party in the north of the country. Borkhuu Delgersaikhan, a businessman active in the mining sector, is running in the Western Gobi province.

In their various appearances in the run up to the elections, both put themselves forward in the best possible light. But as the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has confirmed to swissinfo.ch, a legal case in the works here suggest they share a tarnished track record.

Mysterious deals
Between December 2007 and July 2008, Delgersaikhan allegedly received some $45 million (CHF42.6 million) into his Zurich bank account, the money sent by a mysterious Chinese investor. From this amount, he then allegedly paid €8.2 million (CHF8.75 million) into a Credit Suisse account belonging to Bayartsogt.

What were the transactions about? A few days beforehand, Bayartsogt had taken up his position as minister of finance, and a few months after, he signed a huge contract with the British-Australian Rio Tinto group, handing them the rights to exploit the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the south Gobi Desert.

It was a good deal for the investors, who reckoned the mine would eventually become one of the world’s biggest reservoirs of copper and gold.

But: in 2013, the Offshore Leaks report revealed that Bayartsogt was the holder of Swiss bank accounts. Embarrassed, the politician was forced to publicly apologise; he then resigned from his job as vice president of the Mongolian parliament.

In an effort to play down the affair, he paid some CHF2.1 million to Delgersaikhan. But the move had an unexpected effect: it raised red flags at the latter’s Zurich bank, which reported the transaction to Swiss authorities.

Lawyer’s statement
Swiss courts take up the case
It wasn’t until 2016 that the Swiss justice system woke up. In June that year, a group of Mongolian lawyers launched a legal case in Switzerland against Bayartsogt and others – a case revealed by the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. In turn, Credit Suisse then became worried and reported Bayartsogt – its client – to the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS).

In August 2016, federal prosecutors finally opened an investigation into money laundering and froze almost $1.85 million in Delgersaikhan’s accounts – suspecting him of acting as an intermediary in corrupting Bayartsogt in the lead-up to the allocation of rights to the Oyu Tolgoi mine.

Delgersaikhan contested the freezing of his accounts at the Federal Criminal Court, then at the Federal Supreme Court, before his appeal was rejected in 2018. For the judges, there was no question: “the fact that such a considerable sum is paid to the minister of a foreign country, immediately after he has taken up his position, is suspicious from the outset,” they wrote in their judgement. Such movements of money are “typical” of laundering schemes, they said.

Contacted by swissinfo.ch, federal prosecutors said that their investigation, originally brought against unknown subjects, has been widened to include the names of the two Mongolian parliamentary candidates – Bayartsogt and Delgersaikhan – as well as a third citizen from the Asian country.

And in April 2020, the prosecutors announced a “sentence order” – a type of criminal judgement – against Delgersaikhan, accusing him of falsifying documents. The businessman rejected this, and will take his case before the Federal Criminal Court.

“This sentence order is the last hope of the Attorney General to keep a case going against my client,” says Manuel Bader, the Zurich lawyer of Delgersaikhan. Until now, he says, all of the charges brought against his client have gone up in smoke.

Criminal investigations in Mongolia
In Mongolia, too, anti-corruption authorities have shown interest in the two politicians and their 2009 dealings. The OAG has confirmed that Mongolia filed a request for legal assistance from Switzerland, which federal prosecutors answered in 2019.

However, the status of investigations in Mongolia is unclear. Bayartsogt was arrested for the first time in 2018, released, then briefly detained again in 2019, according to Reuters. The Mongolian Independent Authority Against Corruption did not respond to our questions.

The only certainty is that throughout the election campaign, both candidates were keen to play down the affair. On May 30, Delgersaikhan allegedly told public television that the OAG’s investigation had been shelved and that he had been cleared by Swiss prosecutors – a claim that contradicts what the OAG says.

Responding to the statement of Delgersaikhan’s lawyer, the OAG has reaffirmed its position: “firstly, the evaluation of a document should be done on the basis of all the content, and not only ‘pieces’”, an OAG spokesperson told swissinfo.ch.

“The response of the OAG on June 16 remains valid, including the following declaration: ‘to date, and in this context, none of the criminal proceedings have been dropped’.”

A Mongolian citizen, meanwhile, who asked to remain anonymous, frets about the rule of law in his country: “Switzerland must help us to make the truth known, to the world and to our people. Otherwise our young democracy will die, and we will end up losing our sovereignty. If these people reach the upper echelons of politics, Mongolia will be in grave danger.”

* Karine Pfenniger works for Gotham City, a newsletter founded by investigative journalists Marie Maurisse and François Pilet. The newsletter specialises in economic crime.

Mongolia’s Ruling Party Keeps Big Majority After Covid-19 Success www.bloomberg.com

Mongolia’s ruling party retained a supermajority after parliamentary elections, as the government’s relative success against the coronavirus outbreak offset concerns about corruption and the erosion of democratic institutions.

The Mongolian People’s Party appeared poised to secure at least 62 of the 76 seats in the Great State Khural, according to preliminary results released Thursday by the General Election Commission in Ulaanbaatar. The result reaffirms Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa’s grip on power, representing a loss of only one seat in parliament.

The main opposition Democratic Party -- led by former Prime Minister Amarjargal Rinchinnyam -- won 11 seats, while independents and coalition groups secured three others. More than 600 candidates competed in the election Wednesday, the first since the MPP’s landslide win four years ago.

“The MPP fully capitalized on the Covid-19 regime in the country,” said Suren Badral, a former ambassador-at-large and foreign policy adviser to Amarjargal. For example, the ruling party was able to leverage support from teachers, who had more free time due to school closures, he said.

The result could mean more strains between Mongolia and the Rio Tinto Group over their joint Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in the Gobi Desert. Disputes include tax issues, criticism of the terms of the mining agreement and questions about the project’s power requirements.

“Mongolia’s relationship with Rio Tinto will continue to be ‘rocky,’” said Thomas Hugger, a fund manager at Asia Frontier Capital in Hong Kong.

Voting didn’t appear affected by the pandemic, with turnout at 68% nationwide and in line with past elections in Mongolia. The result was the latest -- after parliamentary elections in nearby South Korea in April -- to suggest that infection-control measures like glove and mask requirements might not have a big impact on voter participation.

Since taking the premier’s post in 2017, Khurelsukh, 52, has strengthened his political position through unlikely cooperation with President Battulga Khaltmaa, 57, of the rival DP. They pushed through a series of legislative changes last year including the removal of measures intended to protect the independence of the courts and anti-corruption investigators. Khurelsukh also secured new powers to select cabinet members and extended the length of the president’s term.

Corruption, Coronavirus
The shift has fueled concerns that Mongolia’s status as an “oasis of democracy” between Russia and China may be under threat three decades after the country’s first open election in 1990. Authorities took the unprecedented step in recent weeks of arresting five candidates, including three from the DP and two members of the MPP.

The MPP managed to not only overcome that criticism, but also the fallout from a Covid-driven economic downturn. A short-term ban on sending coal to China in February sent exports sliding 38.5% in the first five months of the year, and Mongolia reported a 10.7% economic contraction for the first quarter.

“The MPP has won public support, a clean reputation and a strong homeland,” Amarbayasgalan Dashzeveg, the ruling party’s secretary general, said after the result was confirmed.

Mongolia has managed to keep its coronavirus cases low by closing its borders, banning public gatherings and establishing curfews on restaurants and pubs, giving Khurelsukh a boost. The country had confirmed 216 cases and no deaths as of Thursday.

Still, Camille Barras, a politics and international studies researcher at the University of Cambridge who previously observed local governance in Mongolia for the United Nations Development Program, said the results will disappoint those seeking an alternative to the two main parties. Some 121 independent candidates and 4 coalitions of smaller parties had sought seats in the election.

“It is quite palpable how the election results might also feed into further political disillusionment of part of the electorate,” Barras said.

by Terrence Edwards

Mongolia’s Lessons on Democracy during a Pandemic www.asiafoundation.org

Mongolia is holding parliamentary elections today after a remarkable 2020 campaign season, unique for the significant participation of new parties and independent candidates and markedly changed by the Covid-19 pandemic. As election day, June 24, approached, everywhere there were signs that this year is different: the prime minister campaigning in a protective face shield, campaign rallies with attendees sitting in chairs spaced two meters apart, campaign outreach built on online promotion and social media “influencers.” Each of these innovations points to a democratic process that is adjusting to the realities of the pandemic as they emerge. The effect of these adjustments on the electoral process will be an important subject for future analysis.

Mongolia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been extremely successful at preventing the spread of the virus. By acting early and decisively, Mongolia has been one of the few countries in the world with no proven local transmission of Covid-19, and it has recorded fewer than 200 cases overall. That decisive action, of course, has involved major restrictions on everyday life and daily sacrifices by Mongolian citizens. As in many countries around the world, the Mongolian people, as individuals, families, organizations, and institutions, have adjusted to these restrictions with strength, resilience, creativity, and ingenuity.

Some of the most interesting innovations have been in the realm of governance, where The Asia Foundation has been actively supporting, observing, and learning from Mongolia’s experiments. The Municipality of Ulaanbaatar has been stepping up the deployment of online engagement tools, including a mobile app allowing citizens to vote directly on local infrastructure investments. This system, which replaced a system of paper-based surveys, allowed more than 400,000 citizens to place their votes for civic improvements in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Mongolian Great State Khural, the nation’s parliament, also radically altered its procedures to allow its spring session to proceed. Safely convening the national parliament was crucial for several reasons. First, it continued the Mongolian government’s wide-ranging efforts to model safe behaviors and reinforce the message that masks and social distancing are essential and effective. Second, it allowed the parliament, at a critical moment, to craft legislation to respond to the pandemic. Finally, it ensured that the pandemic did not interrupt Mongolia’s thriving democratic tradition.

With the new procedures firmly in place, MPs were physically present in the parliament but distributed among different chambers to allow 1.5 meters space between each occupied desk. A video conferencing system connected the chambers and allowed for outside speakers and observers. Votes were taken both by show of hands and by text message using purpose-built meeting software. This ambitious new system required procedural changes, astute investments in IT, and a range of new policies for routine matters like media access. The Asia Foundation and Global Partners Governance (GPG) hosted an online, “virtual parliament” workshop with representatives of the Mongolian parliament at the start of this experimental session, both to learn from their planning and to share some emerging best practices for the parliament to consider. The contents of this discussion formed the basis of a brief paper by the Foundation and GPG laying out some key concepts and considerations for virtual parliaments.

The June 24 parliamentary elections will be another example of adapting the functions of government to the realities of the pandemic. Some voices called for a postponement of the elections, concerned that proceeding would undercut the nation’s posture of vigilance in the face of the pandemic. But the example of South Korea’s successful elections earlier this year, the absence of any confirmed local transmission in Mongolia, and public support for the government’s handling of the pandemic so far all convinced decision-makers to go ahead.

Campaigning has been somewhat muted without the usual large, raucous crowds, but online campaign materials have proliferated. Election Day will also be different: at this writing it’s an open question whether turnout will be affected by lingering concerns about gathering in public places.

There will be changes at polling stations. Social distancing will be enforced, which may create longer lines and delays. Temperature checks will be required at polling stations, which could prevent some voters from casting their ballots. International observers won’t be there, due to travel restrictions and quarantine rules for international arrivals.

How these unique circumstances affect the elections and Mongolia’s immediate political future will merit study and analysis in the days to come. The possibility of low turnout or voter disenfranchisement should not be ignored. But the available evidence suggests that Mongolians are successfully adapting their democratic practices to the unique challenges of the coronavirus era.

Mark Koenig is The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Mongolia. He can be reached at mark.koenig@asiafoundation.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author, not those of The Asia Foundation.

Russia is Eyeing Mongolia and the Reason is Not (Only) China www.insideover.com

Turkey is more and more present in Mongolia, the land in between Russia and China, and its presence is set to work against the Kremlin’s national interests in the region since the two countries have recently resumed their centuries-old rivalry for hegemony over Eurasia. In 2020 as in 1853, Turkey is not alone since its agenda is backed by the Western powers, that’s why Russia needs to carefully plan every move in this all-against-one geopolitical game.

Understanding Turkey’s Vision for Mongolia
Mongolia and Turkey are tied by a millennia-old spiritual relationship since the former is one of the places where the modern-day Turkic peoples used to live long before moving westward. It comes as no surprise that Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to dedicate some space to Ulaanbaatar in its very rich and complex foreign agenda based on the combination of Neo-Ottomanism, Islamic nationalism, Pan-Turkism and Turanism. In Mongolia’s case, Erdogan’s strategists are playing the turanist and pan-Turkic cards, trying to make fascinating and attracting the memory of an ancient and related past.

Pan-Turkism is the ideology whose aim is to make Turkey appear as the legitimate defender of the Turkic peoples wherever they live: China’s Xinjiang, Moldova’s Gagauzia, Russia’s Crimea, Central Asia, and so on. This claim has prompted Ankara to try to fund a pan-Turkic cultural and political revival by means of charities, NGOs, government-linked agencies, schools, cultural centres and mosques.

As of today, Turkey’s strategy is paying back since it is more and more hegemonizing Central Asian dynamics via the Turkic Council and the International Organization of Turkic Culture, it is one of the most important reference points and international sponsors of the Uyghur insurgency and it is attracting into its orbit several Russian republics via their incorporation in pan-Turkic entities, like the World Turks Qurultai.

What is Turanism?
Turanism is a less known but very captivating school of thought believed to originate in tge early 1900s, until Hungary and Turkey decided to bring new life to it in the 2000s. That choice proved savvy, because turanism is now showing up its game-changing potential. Turanism was born out of the minds of Central European thinkers in the late 19th century with the purpose of building a continent-wide alliance made up by the peoples of Ural-Altaic origin so that to counter the unification processes started by the pan-Slavists and the pan-Germanists. These peoples were and are Hungary’s Magyars, Finland’s and Baltics’ Finns, Russia’s Tatars and Anatolia’s Turks, but neo-Turanists tend to extend the spiritual connection to some Asian peoples like the Mongols, Turkestani Turks, the Koreans and the Japanese.

Nineteenth century’s turanism didn’t work out and eventually crashed against the revolution-powered pan-Slavist and pan-Germanist sentiments but Viktor Orban and Erdogan got to make it appealing and, above all, to make it work. The two countries formed a very solid strategic partnership and are expanding throughout Asia. Budapest, for instance, took advantage of the turanist momentum to develop strong ties with the -stan countries and Tokyo.

Turkey’s interest for Mongolia has to be contextualized in this ideological framework and, just like in Central Asia and the Balkans, the task of increasing its own influence to the detriment of Russia is not proving very hard.

What are the Turkish Doing in Mongolia?
The relations between Mongolia and Turkey didn’t start in the post-Cold War but date back to the Ottoman era, that is when the High Porte supported the “Turkic Mongol brothers”‘s military campaigns against the Russians. The later fall of the Gengis Khan-built empire and the turning of the Russian reality into a strong and well-defended empire against the background of the consolidation of the Chinese empire, led to the disappearance of Mongolia as an independent entity until 1911.

In the post-World War I, the Communist revolution spread from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar and the historically deep-rooted hostility between Mongols and Chinese have been wisely exploited by the Soviets to give rise to a decades-long conflict-free partnership whose soundness hasn’t been affected by the political turmoil of the 1990s.

It’s in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse that Turkey enters Mongolia again in the expectation to take advantage of the power vacuum. Although the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1969, it was only from the late 1990s that Ankara started using its own proxies to raise its influence over Ulaanbaatar and it has been recording quite a success.

Avalanche of Turkey-Mongolia Agreements and Projects
As of today, the two countries are tied by more than hundred agreements and from 2011 Turkey has been included in the “Third Neighbor” list, that is the list where are mentioned the nations (beyond Russia and China) recognized by Mongolia as important for the regional stability and, thus, with which is recommended to strengthen the bilateral cooperation. The Third Neighbor’s list speaks for itself since it includes a series of Western or Western-aligned powers: Turkey, the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and India.

Erdogan is known to be a skillful and pragmatic statesman and, indeed, is missing no chance. So far, his strategy has been based on the projection of soft power, more in detail on culture and humanitarian cooperation. The government-linked Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) is present in the country since 1994 and it has proven to be Ankara’s main instrumentum regni.

From 1994 to 2019, the Tika completed 661 humanitarian projects in Mongolia, and 67 new ones were launched last year, and its range of action knows no borders. In fact, the Tika is being engaged in the delivery of tons of food and basic goods to the Northern Mongolia-based Duhka Turks, in the building of capacity underground vegetable warehouses in Henti province (which has been carefully selected for the fact of hosting a small Muslim community), and it is also funding projects in the fields of education, health, work, welfare, social infrastructure and culture.

The latter field is probably the most important due to its potential repercussions. Indeed, the Tika is trying to foster a cultural revival by means of initiatives aimed at helping vanishing Turkic tribes preserve their identity, rituals, language, and religion. Accordingly, the agency is funding the publication of local dictionaries and grammar guides, the establishment of cultural centers, and is entering universities and high schools to “provide consultation for students who want to pursue studies in Turkey”.

Turkey Helps Mongolia with COVID-19
The outcomes are yet to be seen but something is undoubtedly beyond the horizon. Recently, a school in Ulaanbaatar which was renovated by the Tika has been symbolically renamed after Kemal Ataturk. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected Mongolia only marginally, Turkey was in the front line to help national companies to make masks and other medical goods. Equally important is to remember the role played by Ankara in convincing Ulaanbaatar to join NATO missions across the globe, to adopt the alliance’s operational and training standards, and to sign, in 2012, the Individual Partnership and Cooperation Program.

In any case, the most important events took place last year, in the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Turkish government sent a delegation to Ulaanbaatar and got several results, including the promise to “take out bilateral relations in every field to the highest level”, concrete support in the fight against Fetullah Gulen’s network, and the participation in the forthcoming establishment of an Ankara-run “parliamentary assembly composed of Turkish-speaking countries and countries which have common roots.”

The Russians in Mongolia
Russia and Turkey are in Mongolia for the same reason, that is to create a bridgehead with which to keep a foot in Central Asia. The former is facilitated by the anti-Chinese hostility displayed by both the Mongol political class and public opinion, whereas the latter is helped by the identity factor.

As of today, Mongolia is far from becoming a Chinese or Turkish satellite since the Kremlin is betting hard on the country and has been increasing its presence since the 2010s. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the mastermind of the Russo-Mongol revival and skillfully posed himself as a mediator between Ulaanbaatar and Beijing with the double result of making Moscow appear the country’s guardian and of monitoring Chinese moves.

Last September, Putin and his Mongol counterpart launched an eloquent message to the world by signing a milestone perpetual friendship treaty. That document is important but needs to be complemented by concrete actions otherwise it will remain a mere piece of paper and the country might well fall in someone else’s hands. Indeed, Turkey got to become a “Third Neighbor” in less than a decade of operations with no need for friendship treaties, showing just how quickly the situation can change.

A citizen arrived from the U.S. diagnosed with coronavirus www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ One person who arrived on a charter flight from Seattle, USA was tested positive for the coronavirus, reported Director of the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) D.Nyamkhuu at today’s daily Covid-19 briefing of the Ministry of Health.

Mongolian peacekeepers detain suspected Taliban spy www.news.mn

A man suspected of trying to enter the base of the XI deployment of Mongolian peacekeepers, serving with German troops in the NATO-led “Resolute Support” mission in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 23 June. Mongolian peacekeepers put the man, Mohammad Mansoor Rahman, into custody after he tried to enter the base driving a truck in the night.

Mini LNG plant to supply fuel for Mongolia’s coal truck fleet www.news.mn

Mongolia coal seam gas pioneer Elixir Energy has signed its first offtake agreement with one of the country’s largest fuel retailers to build a small-scale liquified natural gas (LNG) plant to supply the large truck fleet hauling coal to China. The memorandum of understanding is with MT Group and covers using local coal bed methane gas.

MIAT aims to launch passenger services between Mongolia and the United States www.news.mn

At a time when our skies are almost empty of planes, aviation enthusiasts get excited when they see something unusual and positively ecstatic when a first-time sighting is made. Such an event, involving a Mongolian aircraft has got ‘Simple Flying’ into raptures:

History was made on Sunday when a MIAT Mongolian Airlines Boeing 767-300 aircraft operated the first ever non-stop flight to the United States from Mongolia. Let’s take a look at this historic flight:

The Independent reports that a MIAT Mongolian Airlines flight landed at Seattle International Airport on Sunday, 21st June, as the first ever non-stop service between any city in the United States and Mongolia.

The outbound flight to the US lasted just under 11 hours, and just over 11 hours on the way back to Ulaanbaatar. Although the flight repatriated Mongolian citizens stranded in the USA, strictly speaking, it was not a passenger service, but a cargo one: the purpose was to deliver 60,000 items of personal protective equipment (PPE).

This PPE cargo load was a donation made by the Mongolian government to the United States. In particular, it was sent to the Navajo Nation indigenous community, which has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. The community has had 7,000 confirmed infections, for a population size of 175,000. This makes it one of the highest rates in the US, and one of the highest in the world.

The aircraft that MIAT Mongolian Airlines sent to the US for this purpose is a seven-year-old Boeing 767-300, of which Mongolian has two in its fleet. The registration of the one that operated this flight is JU-1021. Interestingly, this aircraft carries the name Chinggis Khaan. This is of course Genghis Khan, the famous 12th-century ruler of a vast Mongol Empire, which at its height extended from Vietnam to Central Europe.

Interestingly, on the way back, the aircraft flew to Ulaanbaatar with over 200 Mongolian citizens on board who had until previously been stuck in the United States due to travel restrictions. It also carried back multiple crates of dinosaur fossils which had been stolen from Mongolia and smuggled to the US.

Photos of the 767 aircraft, and of the unloading of cargo, were posted by the Seattle Tacoma International Airport’s Twitter account two days ago. Also among the photos is a snapshot of a ceremony held at the airport. Michael O’Hare, an official of FEMA (the US Federal Emergency Management Agency), formally accepted the donation on behalf of the United States from the Mongolian ambassador Yondon Otgonbayar, also pictured, who represented Mongolia.

Mongolian Airlines has ambitions for scheduled USA flights

‘Simple Flying; previously reported that MIAT Mongolian Airlines has applied for permission to launch scheduled passenger services between Mongolia and the United States. Despite having an active fleet of just seven aircraft, the airline has expressed an interest in launching a single route between the US and Ulaanbaatar. This could perhaps really happen once MIAT Mongolian Airlines receives its first Boeing 787-9 in 2021.

Similar to this rare sighting, there have been many other unusual sightings of aircraft across the world. An Ethiopian Airlines Cargo 777 flew to Banja Luka, a relatively tiny town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to deliver medical cargo earlier this year. (source: simple flying)