Ri arrived in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator on Saturday for a two-day visit at the invitation of the Mongolian foreign minister.

The two foreign ministers exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation at the regional and international levels and in various sectors such as politics, trade, sports and education, and other issues of mutual concern, the ministry said in a statement.

During the talks, Tsogtbaatar said that all relevant parties should cooperate closely to realize a completely denuclearized Korean Peninsula and solve any controversial issues in the region through negotiations.

For his part, Ri said that the DPRK adheres to the denuclearization of the peninsula, noting that strengthening mutual trust is now crucial in the region.

Mongolia and the DPRK established diplomatic ties in 1948.

The objective of the Seminar is to give the opportunity to entrepreneurs of Mongolia to look India for trade and Investment in the sector of Agriculture, Dairy, Pharmaceuticals, Tourism, Education, and Spices, Tea, Coffee etc. This Seminar will give opportunities to Mongolian companies to obtain information on Indian Economy, Business opportunities available in India, Trade and Investment environment in Mongolia as well as for the local entrepreneurs and organizations to learn more about Indian trade with Mongolia. You are kindly requested to disseminate this information among members of your organization and encourage them to participate in the event. Half Day event will be followed by Indian lunch.

You may register to the Seminar by email at commerce.ulaan@mea.gov.in & or by calling at +976-70132248 [Mr. Boldoo, Marketing Assistant] and for any other information related to the Summit.

Venue: Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 
1st floor Auditorium Date: 12th of December, 2018. 1000 hrs

At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on current conditions of the state budget and banking and finance sector of Mongolia.

The Head of the Cabinet Secretariat noted Mongolia’s involvement in the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program brought accelerated economic growth, improvement in the public budget balance and more investment. He also said the Government of Mongolia endeavours to decrease budget deficits and to diversify the economy by improving budget discipline and reducing expenditures.

Mr. Neil Saker expressed IMF’s satisfaction at Mongolian Government’s successful implementation of the EFF program, highlighting the 2018 State Budget is predicted to show a positive balance.

The parties also shared information about Mongolia’s export policy and economic growth.

People have known about the iron-oxide balls found in Utah for hundreds, if not thousands of years—they are often referred to as Moqui marbles after the local Indian tribe. But how the small spheres came to exist is a mystery. It is the same story with the little balls in Mongolia. Interest in both has spiked in recent years due to the "blueberries" (hematite spherules) found on Mars back in 2004—many geologists believe they developed in the same way as the balls on Earth. In this new effort, the researchers suggest they may have solved the mystery of their origin on Earth, and by extension, on Mars, as well.

The researchers started by looking at samples of the balls using X-ray diffraction and optical microscopes. This allowed them to get a good look at the cores of the balls. After studying the makeup of the interior of the balls, the researchers concluded that they were first nothing but sandstone (mostly calcite). But then, the sandstone was very slowly dissolved by acidic water rich in iron, resulting in the formation of the balls, which notably have calcite cores. The researchers next conducted lab experiments designed to make similar balls using the same process. They report that their efforts were successful.

The researchers suggest their findings offer evidence of flowing water on Mars during the time the "blueberries" came to exist. They note the lack of a calcite core does not mean it was never there—such cores could very easily have vanished due to over-wash flowing through the rock. They further suggest that such an occurrence would also explain the dearth of carbonate on Mars' surface—it would have been dissolved as part of the process that led to the creation of the blueberries.

The consultative meeting involved about 20 representatives of over 10 organizations, including the Parliament, government, ministries and agencies, with the presence of diplomats of the US Embassy headed by Charge d’ affaires a.i Manuel P.Micaller.

In his opening speech, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs D.Davaasuren emphasized that Mongolia has been developing active relations and cooperation with its third neighbor –the U.S.A. "In particular many important events have been occurred in 2018 including the visit of Mongolia Prime Minister to the U.S.A, elevation of bilateral relations into expanded comprehensive partnership, signing of a roadmap for expanded economic partnership and the MCC USD350 million Compact as well as others."

He also asked the representatives to collaborate for making preparations for regular political consultative meeting between the two countries to be held in Washington early 2019.

During the meeting, representatives reviewed the events happened between the two countries in 2018 and exchanged views on measures to be implemented in 2019 to expand the bilateral cooperation.

A quorum is reached when at least 39 out of 76 parliamentarians attend the session. However, 40 MPs submitted a petition to not attend plenary sessions until the Parliament Speaker resigns from his position last month. Continuing on to the next stage of protest, MP Bold Luvsanvandan, Batzandan Jalbasuren, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai and Ayursaikhan Tumurbaatar staged a sit-in; thus, the Speaker received the four members to listen to their demand. The protesting MPs stressed, “We are organizing a sit-in because we think the Parliament Speaker has violated the Constitution. The evidence of Mongolian People’s Party authorities discussing to selloff public positions to raise MNT 60 billion was disclosed during the 2016 Parliamentary Election. Speaker Enkhbold was involved in the case and we perceive you are unqualified to act as the Parliament Speaker. If you do not, we will move onto the next stage of protest.”

• A quorum is reached when at least 39 out of 76 parliamentarians attend the session.

• MPs refuse to attend plenary session over Speaker's involvement with MNT 60 billion sell-off case.

• Speaker expresses willing to take responsibility after the court rules against him.

Speaker Enkhbold responded, “The law clearly states five instances of ousting the Parliament Speaker. You need to address the issue in accordance with the law of Mongolia. Regarding the MNT 60 billion sell-off case, I am not against organizing a public hearing; however, it is not possible to hold a public hearing on a case that is currently under investigation. The President also submitted a request to the Constitutional Court. I am willing to take any responsibility after the court ruling.” With the failure to form a quorum, the Parliament decided to postpone several items on the order paper. Thus, the Parliament is expected to discuss the appointment of the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, as well as the Minerals Law, which is expected to extend 2.5 percent gold royalties for five years, today.

A spokesperson of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) said, "SMEs play significant role in food, agriculture and light industry sector, as well as business activation. For instance, SMEs account for 60,330 out of about 78,000 private entities with active operations. These companies employ 43 percent of total workforce.”

Statistics show that SMEs amount to 17.6 percent of Mongolia’s GDP and 2.3 percent of export. As of today, over 900,000 people are employed by SMEs.

The Government, under the 2016-2020 Platform Program, is implementing both financial and non-financial measures to develop SMEs. As for financial support, the Government granted MNT 835.1 billion worth soft-loans to 7,536 lenders from the SME Development Fund since 2009, as well as MNT 130.6 billion from Local Development Funds to 7,536 borrowers.

On the contrary, the accessibility to SME Development Fund stands at about 20-30 percent according to Deputy CEO of Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) Sarandavaa Myanganbuu. “SMEs have to prepare over 30 different documentations from nine Government bodies and go through 36 processes just to draw loan from SME Development Fund. In average, SMEs spend MNT 200,000 - MNT 1.5 million and 33 days just to request a loan. About 60 percent of loan issuers are small loan requesters of up to MNT 100 million.”

Furthermore, Mr. Sarandavaa disclosed that State and ministry officials account for 80 percent of total SME Development Fund loaners. “Previous lessons show that financial support alone is not enough to develop SMEs. They need consultative services that will coordinate their projects with the possibility of success. A study conducted in 2017 that involved over 2,500 SMEs suggested revision to Laws on tax, labor and SMEs. Also, it shows that the current legal environment has the highest pressure on middle-sized enterprises,” addressed Mr. Sarandavaa.

In addition, the IAAC has conducted an inspection on SME Development Found and found five violations, which were disclosed at the discussion. These are:

Granting loans without proper selections;

High-risks on the repayment of granted loans;

Loan issuance to unclear project implementation date;

No penalties to overdue repayments;

Lack of monitoring and accountability.

Participants also highlighted the lack of transparency of information on project loans, which grants more accessibility to people close to the information.

According to the JSA’s public relations department head, the apprentice has a swelling in his face. The JSA says it will consider a punishment for Takanoiwa, who has withdrawn from the winter regional tour in Fukuoka.

Takanoiwa, whose real name is A.Baasandorj, has himself been the victim of assault, when on 26 October 2017, when he was hit with a karaoke machine remote control at a lounge bar by fellow Mongolian Harumafuji. The yokozuna retired the following month.

In November, Takanoiwa dropped a damages suit filed against Harumafuji, saying his family in Mongolia had been subject to abuse over the legal action from their compatriots who hold Harumafuji in high regard.

The scandal prompted former yokozuna Takanohana, the head of Takanoiwa’s stable until it was dissolved, to quit the Japan Sumo Association in September.

Meantime, the government has been trying with limited resources to put a dent in the problem. Subsidies have been offered to families for stoves that produce less pollution, and since January 2017, electricity in many of the city’s highest-polluting districts has been made free at night, when pollution levels are always at their most severe.