The current account deficit has risen to USD 297.6 million since the beginning of the year, decreased from the previous year. The surplus of the trading account, which shows export and import reached USD 407 million. However, the service account that registered the flow of traffic, tourism, and other high-paid services accounted for a deficit of USD 553.2 million. This is an increase in the deficit over the previous year. The Bank of Mongolia (BoM) said that the balance of payments will have a surplus of USD 500-600 million this year.

high-paid services accounted for a deficit of USD 553.2 million
When the balance of payment results in a surplus, a certain amount of funding will be reflected in the foreign trade profit and financial account, according to the BoM. For instance, within the framework of the Extended Fund Facility program, about USD 800 million will be allocated to Mongolia. In addition, the Ministry of Finance estimated a direct investment of USD 1.3 billion into the underground development of Oyu Tolgoi LLC.

Luttig, 64, who has served as general counsel since joining Boeing in 2006, will "manage all legal matters associated with the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents," the Chicago-based aircraft company announced in a statement.

Luttig had served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for 15 years before joining Boeing. He also held senior roles at the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House and in private practice.

He will give advice to Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the Boeing board of directors. Meanwhile, Brett Gerry succeeds Luttig as Boeing's general counsel.

A number of lawsuits have already been filed against Boeing in the federal district court in Chicago by family members of victims who lost their lives in two deadly crashes.

On-going investigations into the two accidents are reportedly pointing to faulty sensor readings and a flight-control system which pushed the doomed planes nose down.

Muilenburg told a shareholders meeting on Monday that Boeing is close to completing an update to the flight control software of 737 MAX aircraft.

Students, researchers and scholars of the U.S. will be able to find books and magazines related to Mongol studies and get news and information about Mongolia from the website StudyMongolia.

Noting that the university library has a large collection of books on Mongol studies, WWU President Sabah Randhawa highlighted that they are giving importance to further grow their book collections by categories. The event was supported by the Embassy of Mongolia to the USA, Consulate General of Mongolia in San Francisco, Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports and the John C. Street Endowment.

CEO of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC B.Gankhuyag said, “Last year, our company earned MNT1.99 trillion sales income with the net profit of MNT807.6 billion. According to the decision made by the Parliament and Cabinet, the Board of Directors of the company has resolved to fund major infrastructure projects and programs with its net profit. In particular, the company will fund first investments of the projects, including railways in route Tavantolgoi-Zuunbayan and Tavantolgoit-Gashuunsukhait, establishments of Coal Concentration Plant, water supply, conveyor system and Power Plant. In this regard, the company has made a decision to adjustments its budget, cutting its expenses by MNT400 billion, which is spent on building office and purchasing automobiles, computers and equipment and devices.”

Preparation works for the IPO on international market have being fulfilled intensively. In accordance with the law on procurement of goods, works, and services with state and local funds, some works related to selection of international consultant have been delayed for a while. But the fulfillment of a work on creating citizens’ aggregated database and formulating documentations are running well, he mentioned.

The Cabinet banned raw coal consumption in the capital city beginning from May 1, 2019. Therefore, processed fuel by Tavantolgoi Tulsh Company will be supplied to the citizens from May 15. This work is running with fulfillment of around 90 percent, he highlighted.

Tavantolgoi Tulsh Company will produce 800 thousand tons of fuel a year. By using this fuel, it is expected to reduce air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city up to 50-60 percent in 2019-2020. In addition, 24 types of experiment have shown that the fuel is not hazardous for human health.

"Developing young people is very important for any country's development and future," the country's Minister of Labor and Social Protection Sodnom Chinzorig said in a statement on the ministry's website.

"The program aims to create favorable conditions for youth to contribute as active members of society to the political, civil, economic, social and cultural development of the country and provide them with opportunities to develop their lifelong learning skills," Chinzorig added.

From 2019 to 2022, a total of 72 activities will be done to improve education at all stages, promote youth development, increase youth engagement in sustainable development, and create living as well as learning environments that are safe and friendly, he said.

Mongolia is an East Asian country with a population of 3.2 million. Currently, 33.7 percent of the total population and 46.5 percent of the working-age population are young people aged 15-34, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

Head of the Cabinet Secretariat L.Oyun-Erdene was assigned to renew a composition of the Board of Directors, change the executives, who worked irresponsible, and put an experienced international team in charge of the bank’s management.

The working group, set up by the Government Resolution No:76, found 63 violations in the bank’s activities. Thus, the corresponding Minister and the Board of Directors were given a duty to take measures for eradicating the violations and oversee the implementation of the recommendations given during the inspection and report to the government within the third quarter of 2019.

The sides touched upon an issue of increasing the number of direct flight routes between Mongolia and China. The Chinese side expressed its willingness to take step-by-step actions in this regard while agreeing to give MIAT Mongolian Airlines the right to operate direct flight from Ulaanbaatar to Sanya city in Hainan, China between May 3 and December 31, 2019.

- Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Ch.Ulaan was assigned to carry out preventive measures against the threat of field mice on a land of 645 thousand hectares.

- Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D. Sumiyabazar obtained permission to set up a project unit responsible for developing the legal framework for exploration, mining and utilization of rare-earth elements and carrying out economic impact assessments. The World Bank estimated that Mongolia has USD 10 billion worth of rare-earth element resources.

- ‘National Geo-Information Database’ program was approved. The five-year program will be implemented with funding from the State Budget and loans and aids of foreign governments and international organizations.

- The Cabinet approved the proposal to open a Consulate in Manzhouli, China and the bill on ratifying the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement thus, decided to submit them to the Parliament.

- The Cabinet discussed and decided to submit to the Parliament bills on providing excise tax exemption on imports of equipment to be used for preparation of the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games and organization of the Children of Asia International Sports Games 2020 and the 2023 East Asian Youth Games, both of which will be hosted by Mongolia.

- Minister of Road and Transport Development B.Enkh-Amgalan was assigned to promptly carry out preventive railway maintenance works with commercial loans to prevent accidents that might occur following the increase in annual precipitation.

Furthermore, the officials believe that it is necessary to take several actions to ensure the preparation of dual-listing at the Mongolian Stock Exchange. A subsidiary will be established under the ETT in order to meet the international stock exchange standards. Shareholders will then be able to trade the company shares at foreign and domestic stock exchanges in December.

In addition, the National Program on Youth Development was adopted during the Cabinet meeting yesterday. The objective of the program is to develop a patriotic and healthy lifestyle among young people, to increase access to healthcare services, to improve the quality of training at all levels, to support employment and start-up businesses, to create youth-friendly and safe living conditions. Youth development in the world is measured by five indicators: health, education, employment, social and political participation, and Mongolia is listed at 71st out of 183 countries.

The Prime Minister and related officials visited several locations to select a place to rebuild a Museum of Natural History a few days ago. The Cabinet has been supporting the proposal to construct the museum at Ikh Tenger and has signed a law on land use agreements with relevant officials to cooperate. Minister of Finance and Governor of Capital City Amartsaikhan Sainbuyan gave the following technical and regulatory requirements to carry out the construction of the museum.

The fund will support the sustainable extraction and processing of minerals and metals used in clean energy technologies, such as wind, solar power, and batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles.

The World Bank is targeting a total investment of $50 million, to be deployed over a 5-year timeframe. The fund will focus on activities around four core themes: climate change mitigation; climate change adaptation; reducing material impacts and creating market opportunities, contributing to the decarbonization and reduction of material impacts along the supply chain of critical minerals needed for clean energy technologies.

The facility evolves out of a World Bank report “The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals for a Low-Carbon Future” which found that a low-carbon future will be significantly more mineral intensive than a ‘business as usual’ scenario. Global demand for strategic minerals like lithium, graphite and nickel will skyrocket by 965%, 383% and 108% respectively by 2050, according to the World Bank’s updated 2018 projections

Global demand for strategic minerals like lithium, graphite and nickel will skyrocket by 965%, 383% and 108% respectively by 2050, according to the World Bank’s updated 2018 projections, which are based on the assumption that countries will implement the Paris Agreement.

The multi-donor trust fund will work with developing countries and emerging economies to implement sustainable and responsible strategies and practices across the mineral value chain.

Partners include the German government and private sector companies, Rio Tinto and Anglo American. The Facility will also assist governments to build a robust policy, regulatory and legal framework that promotes climate-smart mining and creates an enabling environment for private capital.

Projects may include supporting the integration of renewable energy into mining operations, given that the mining sector accounts for up to 11%of global energy use and that mining operations in remote areas often rely on diesel or coal; supporting the strategic use of geological data for a better understanding of “strategic mineral” endowments; forest-smart mining; preventing deforestation and supporting sustainable land-use practices; repurposing mine sites and recycling of minerals and supporting developing countries to take a circular economy approach and reuse minerals in a way that respects the environment.