The meeting was co-chaired by D.Davaasuren, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, and Marcelino Medina, first Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba.

Mr. Davaasuren held a meeting with Mr. Fernando Bermudez, first Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Environment and discussed about launching cooperation between scientific, technological and research institutes. Furthermore, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of the Republic of Cuba for cooperation in conservation.

Moreover, the State Secretary got familiarized with activities of the Diplomatic Academy and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology which is leading in the world with its production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines and exchanged views on bilateral cooperation.

The Cuban side proposed to cooperate with Mongolia in health and biotechnological sectors, especially in the fields of treatment of diabetes, prevention of heart attack, elimination of hepatitis B and Delta viruses and the supply of vaccines against bovine foot-and-mouth disease and parasites.

“The PEA confirms that the Khundii Gold Project is a high-return, low-capital and low-operating cost project that will form the cornerstone development in the emerging Khundii Gold District,” said Peter Akerley, the President, and CEO of ERD. “The project has the potential to provide strong returns to investors, bring industry and employment to a remote area of Mongolia and add to national gold reserves. We have a long history of operating responsibly in the Country and we look forward to creating value for all stakeholders as we continue to develop this exciting project.”

“Next steps include a Pre-Feasibility Study carried out in parallel with mining license, construction and operating permit applications in early 2019,” continued Mr. Akerley. “In addition, we will continueefforts to add resources through follow-up drilling on the Khundii licenses and with further exploration in the highly prospective surrounding district. We will also opportunistically acquire additional licenses in the region as they become available.” Furthermore, the initial capital cost is expected comprise primarily of construction of the process plant and supporting infrastructure. The PEA incorporates the use of a mining contractor utilizing mining equipment, which if purchased outright, would add USD 38 million to capital costs for the life of the mine.

According to statistics, the amount of NPLs drastically surged since October 208. The Bank of Mongolia (BoM) explains that the increase was driven by the Asset Quality Review conducted on commercial banks under the Extended Fund Facility program of the International Monetary Fund. As of 2018, NPLs account for 10.4 percent of gross loans, which is about 8 percentage point higher than the allowed level.

Analysts highlighted the fact that the percentage of NPL to total gross loans entering double-digits means is an alarming signal for the financial system. The BoM highlighted that the NPL constantly grew since 2013, causing reduced credit grants, deepening economic difficulties, and obstructing loan repayments. Thus, the Financial Stability Council of the BoM has ratified a strategic paper on reducing NPLs.

Within the frame, the bank announced to make efforts in optimizing the court-backed forced settlement of NPLs, enhance the efficiency of Law on Bankruptcy, and create a legal environment for non-performing assets market.

Furthermore, the BoM has stated to establish a specialized institution for asset management on its Monetary Policy Guidelines, submitting a bill on Asset Management Firm within its frames. The bill is expected to be discussed this year..

It is the first time the region's foreign trade volume has surpassed 100 billion yuan, according to the customs authorities of Hohhot, the regional capital.

In breakdown, the region's import volume rose 7.5 percent year on year to 65.57 billion yuan, while its export volume reached 37.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 14.4 percent.

Jiao Zhijun, a regional customs official, said Mongolia, Russia and Australia were the region's major trade partners last year, accounting for 56.2 percent of the region's foreign trade volume.

Jiao added that Inner Mongolia saw its foreign trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reach 69.93 billion yuan in 2018, up 14.6 percent year on year.

Steel, organic chemicals, and mechanical and electrical products were among the region's major exports, while its major imports include coal, copper and iron ores.

Korean and Mongolian aviation officials agreed after a series of meetings on Wednesday and Thursday to allow multiple carriers to fly between Incheon and Ulaanbaatar.

The existing bilateral agreement signed in 1991 allows only one airline from each country — Korean Air and MIAT Mongolian Airlines — to operate six flights a week on the route.

With the new agreement, flights to Ulaanbaatar will be increased to nine times a week, starting from late March.

Construction of the cross-border bridge officially started in 2016, following 28 years of negotiations between Russia and China. The new bridge and its corresponding infrastructure will cost more than $300 million and will be 19.9km long. Some 6.5km of the bridge and road junctions will lie in China, and the remaining 13.5km in Russia, according to China’s CNS agency. The length of the main suspension bridge will be roughly 1,300 meters and its width 14.5 meters.

Traffic capacity is expected to exceed three million tons of cargoes and reach 1.48 million people a year by 2020.

The bridge will greatly facilitate trade between the two countries, since the route will be roughly 3,500km shorter. By 2020, cargo turnover is expected to increase 10-fold, from 300,000 to three million metric tons.

After the completion of the road bridge, which will be an impressive engineering masterpiece, a railroad bridge will be erected next to it.

Up till now, metals were printed onto fabrics by coating them with plastic. The new approach, however, allows metal inks to cover entire fibres rather than simply coating the surface of the fabric.

In a media brief, the researchers explained that to coat the fibres, they first covered them in microscopic particles of silicon, and then submerged the material into a solution containing metal ions. The process, known as SIAM or Si ink-enabled autocatalytic metallization, allowed the metals to spread throughout the material as the ions were deposited on the silicon particles.

Since the metal coats the entire fabric, it allows it to maintain its ability to absorb water and it's flexibility.

To prove the technique, the team lead by bioengineer Firat Güder tried different things, among them the creation of silver coil antennas on paper, which can be used for data and power transmission in wireless devices such as Oyster cards and contactless payment systems. They also used the method to deposit silver onto paper and then added zinc onto the same paper to form a battery.

In other words, they say the technique could be used to ultimately incorporate batteries, wireless technologies and sensors into things such as paper and cotton textiles.

“The beauty of this approach is that it can also combine different technologies to serve a more complex application, for example low-cost sensors can be printed on paper that can then transmit the data they collect through contactless technology. This could be particularly useful in the developing world where diagnostic tests need to be conducted at the point of care, in remote locations and cheaply," said researcher Max Grell, who published the team's findings in an article published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga initiated the bill within his power and Chief of Staff to the President Z.Enkhbold submitted the bill to Chairman of the State Great Khural M.Enkhbold on January 4.

With the adoption of the bill, it is legally possible to hold an immediate discussion in Parliament regarding a proposal to dismiss the Speaker of the Parliament that was submitted by majority of the Parliamentarians. The law will enter into force on January 25, 2018.

Mongolians racers IM U.Byambatsogt and U.Byambadelger came in 32nd place in the car category with overall scores, however they could retain their 3rd place in UTV Open class category. The final or 10th stage was conducted for 100 km race, shorter way than previous stages, but had uneven driveway as usual.

The 41st Dakar Rally attracted 541 racers from 61 countries, who rode 334 cars.