"Tourism can be a key driver of growth and economic diversification for the country. So, the government is working to develop heritage tourism and other types of tourism," Khurelsukh said at the opening ceremony of a national conference themed "Heritage Tourism-Investment."

The Mongolian government has declared Khentii Province in the east as a heritage tourism destination, Khuvsgul Province in the northwest as a tourist attraction that focuses on nature and the capital city of Ulan Bator as a cultural tourism destination, the prime minister said.

Within the framework of its efforts to develop heritage tourism, the government has recently decided to establish an independent institute for Genghis Khan research in Khentii Province.

Mongolia has set itself the goal of welcoming one million foreign tourists and earning one billion U.S. dollars from tourism in 2020.

The Asian country has attracted a total of 529,370 foreign tourists in 2018, up 11.01 percent from the previous year, according to the country's Environment and Tourism Ministry.

AutoVAZ is going to capture 15% of the Mongolian primary car market in a short term, the company said. The Russian automaker expects to be successful because its cars “are prepared for extreme weather conditions and challenging roads in Mongolia,” AutoVAZ noted.

The Russian company will also provide repair services and support delivers of all required auto parts to the country. AutoVAZ is the largest carmaker in Russia, which produced over 560,000 automobiles in 2018. (Tass)

The Nailakh District, located in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, has a pitiful record for mine safety; in the last decade alone 126 miners have been killed in accidents.

In connection with the drill, airline companies have issued a notice for passengers who have flights on Thursday to set off much earlier to the airport as all roads in Ulaanbaatar will be closed during the training.

The event is being organised by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). This will be the first major exercise of its kind in the Mongolian capital since 1990. All UB’s residents and organisations must attend the training in 111 safe areas across the city. Members of the public in the six central districts will also be involved in an earthquake evacuation drill.

"Tooth decay is the most prevalent chronic disease among Mongolian children," said Mongolian Health Minister Davaajantsan Sarangerel at the launching ceremony of the program.

The "Healthy Teeth and Healthy Children" program is aimed at developing good oral hygiene and health habits, as well as helping avoid tooth decay and periodontal disease by providing regular dental check-ups and treatment, said Sarangerel.

In the first phase of the five-year program, more than 200 selected dental clinics across the country will provide children aged 2-6 with dental check-ups and treatment free of charge, the health minister said.

The government will allocate money to implement the program, which will cover a total of 725,000 children aged between 2-12 across the country, she added.

Government data show 80-90 percent of children aged 2-12 suffer from dental decay, which has compelled the government to start the program. Enditem

Approximately 80 percent of Mongolia's water is supplied by 1.9 percent of the total reserves of groundwater and there are deficient legal and regulatory documents governing the use and protection of groundwater. Furthermore, the issue of regulating the relations between citizens, business entities, and organizations that are using underground water, as well as improving the monitoring and accountability of the groundwater is becoming a problem.

Also, it is important to prohibit the use of underground freshwater deposits in specific industries, to set abandoned bores, water use, and consumption priorities, to increase the right to the drinking water consumption of citizens, to increase the use of surface water and to define water scarcity levels. The draftsmen believe that there is a need for the socioeconomic necessity to create a legal environment for monitoring.

The draft law was postponed to proceed at the next session due to the failure to meet the quorum.

While acknowledging friendly ties between Mongolia and Kuwait, reached current level is based on aspirations and friendship of peoples of the two countries and overcoming challenges, the sides noted the importance of activating bilateral cooperation in directions of economy and investment, especially, improving connectivity of private sectors of the two countries. In particular, the sides expressed aspirations for using cooperation potential for developing cooperation in agriculture and tourism.

Mongolia is seeking possibilities to export meat to Middle-East countries and the Kuwaiti side informed to send its corresponding delegation to business meeting to be held on this matter in Ulaanbaatar city with support of the Asian Development Bank. Kuwait imports over 90 percent of its meat need from foreign countries.

As for tourism, Mongolia is one of the countries where tourists from not only Kuwait also from Gulf countries like to visit and the parties agreed to establish Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in Tourism in the near future.

Moreover, they decided to render support on developing cooperation in the fields of mining, infrastructure, culture and education and having relations between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries.

The parties also touched issues on keeping up frequency of high-level visits and organizing regular meeting between the Intergovernmental Commission of Mongolia and Kuwait and discussed current political, social and economic state of Mongolia and Kuwait as well as mutually interested matters on regional and international relations.

The two countries have rich experience in actively collaborating within the framework of the United Nations and other international organizations and mutually affirmed intent for expanding and strengthening cooperation in this direction in the future.

2020 will mark the 45th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and Kuwait. The Government of Kuwait has rendered soft loan worth USD 78 million and non-refundable aid worth about USD 17.5 million to Mongolia so far.

On April 17, a Memorandum of Cooperation on a Basic Framework for Proper Operation of the System pertaining to Foreign Human Resources with the Status of Residence ‘Specified Skilled Worker’ was signed in Tokyo between the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia

Before signing the Memorandum, Minister S.Chinzorig held a meeting with Japan’s Minister of Justice Takashi Yamashita, exchanging views on friendly bilateral cooperation.

Mongolia is among nine countries from where Japan will receive labor force according to Japan’s revised law on immigration control which comes into effect from April, 2019. It opens a great opportunity for Mongolian youth to work and learn technical and technological advancements of the world’s highly developed country, highlighted the Minister S.Chinzorig.

He added that most importantly, an establishment of this Memorandum will create a possibility that Mongolians can work in the same conditions and earn same wages as Japanese workers in Japan under the labor contract besides its helpfulness to ensure employment rights of Mongolians and resolve any of their matters concerning residence in Japan.

They also discussed about renewed Memorandum of Cooperation on the Technical Intern Training Program, signed by two countries in 2017. Accordingly, there are 76 organizations, accredited by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Mongolia, working in charge of dispatching interns to Japan.

Regarding the newly established Memorandum of Cooperation on a Basic Framework for Proper Operation of the System pertaining to Foreign Human Resources with the Status of Residence of ‘Specified Skilled Worker’, the General Agency for Labor and Welfare Services of Mongolia will be in charge of its implementation. It will be effective to build mechanisms to exchange information and consult between relevant public organizations and eliminate illicit intermediations.