Bilateral cooperation in the education sector increased in recent years, "China has significantly contributed to our country's efforts to end the system of three shifts in schools by giving non-refundable aid for building new schools and kindergartens," Tsogzolmaa told Xinhua in a recent interview.

According to the minister, a total of 21 schools and kindergartens will be built in Mongolia with aid from China by 2020. Currently, seven schools and one kindergarten are under construction in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.

The Mongolian government plans to end the system of three shifts in schools by 2020 in a bid to improve access to and quality of general education, said the minister, adding that to this end, Mongolia will have to build at least 50 new schools.

In addition, she noted that China has helped Mongolia to prepare a skilled workforce.

"China is the most popular overseas study destination for Mongolian students," she said.

"The number of Mongolian students choosing to study in China has been growing. The number of Mongolian students who receive Chinese scholarships has continued to grow year by year," she added.

Data show that since 2012, more than 2,500 Mongolian students have received Chinese government scholarships, and the number is 358 this year.

The number of students from China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region who study in Mongolia has also increased, Tsogzolmaa said.

The students from both sides serve as a bridge to promote friendship between the two peoples and two countries, she added.

The minister said Mongolia is keen on enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation with China in areas of education, science, culture and sports under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative proposed by China in 2013 offers a huge opportunity for Mongolia and other participating countries to expand relations and cooperation with China in various fields, Tsogzolmaa said, citing infrastructure, economy, education and culture.

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and China, Tsogzolmaa said, expressing the hope that the neighboring Asian countries will take this opportunity to strengthen ties and cooperation in all areas.

"We are planning to organize a series of events," she said, "For instance, Mongolian Culture Days will be organized in the Chinese capital Beijing and in Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. And Chinese Culture Days will be held in Mongolia next year."

The international event is being held after Mongolia decided to sell up to 30 percent of the Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi Company on domestic and international stock markets. Tavan Tolgoi is one of the world's largest untapped coking and thermal coal deposits, with a total estimated reserve of 6.4 billion tons.

Mongolian Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar said at the opening ceremony that Mongolia is ready to cooperate with foreign investors on the Tavan Tolgoi deposit.

Mining is expected to be a leading sector in Mongolia for the next 20 to 30 years, said Sumiyabazar, who hopes the annual conference will help attract more foreign investment for the Mongolian mining industry, especially coal mining.

The 8th Coal Mongolia International Conference and Exhibition has attracted 3,000 participants, including some 600 officials and investors from 15 countries such as China, Australia, Canada and Britain. The theme of this year's conference is "Together towards Technological Advancement."

During the two-day event, the participants will discuss ways to raise Mongolian coal competitiveness in Asia, to increase Mongolian coal exports and to introduce coal mining technology into Mongolia.

Coal is Mongolia's main export. The country extracted 26.3 million tons of coal in the first seven months of this year, according to Sumiyabazar.

Today, Russian ice hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak arrived in Ulaanbaatar at the invitation of Mongolian President Kh.Battulga who is also president of the Mongolian Ice Hockey Federation . During the visit, the Federation signed an MoU with the honoured Russian guest for cooperation with Russia in developing the sport in Mongolia.

Former Russian star goalkeeper Vladislav Tretiak said he will discuss the possibility of constructing an indoor hockey ring in Mongolia for the training of athletes with President Kh.Battulga.

During the meeting held on Tuesday in Tehran, the top diplomats highlighted the close ties between the two countries, and discussed the details of the visit of Mongolian authorities to Iran.

They also conferred on expansion of parliamentary relations, and agricultural cooperation, particularly in the branch of animal husbandry.

Zarif and the Mongolian deputy minister called for the holding of a joint trade forum, and stressed the need to develop cooperation in transit, consular issues, science and culture, oil and gas, as well as to increase people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation in international communities.

L.Naranbaatar, Founder, main organizer of ‘Coal Mongolia’ conference and General Director of Glogex Consulting LLC, said “Over 30 panelists are holding discussions at the conference. The number of participants increased by over 30 percent compared with the previous year. The most of investors are focusing on briquettes and coal processing and interested to invest in this area.”

Moreover, he emphasized that there’s a strong interest in procurement and equipment supply for factories and mining sites.

“This year, greater number of technology companies gathered as the conference is held under the motto ‘Together towards technological advance’. Mongolia's relatively stable coal market is attracting foreign investors,” said Mr. L.Naranbaatar.

B.Misheel

Teachers are willingn to settle for 15 percent pay raise
Thus, the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU) blamed the Ministry of Education,Culture, Science and Sports for discriminating teachers. Amgalanbaatar Khayankhyarvaa, President of the CMTU, remarked, “We demanded 50 percent pay raise for teachers; however, the Government postponed the negotiation and announced a unilateral decision to increase certain workers’ salary by 8-30 percent. This issue must be settled through a tripartite agreement.” 89 out of 192 kindergartens in Ulaanbaatar city previously announced to strike; however, none of the kindergartens have joined the strike yesterday. A spokesperson of the CMTU informed that certain authorities have contacted kindergartens and forbid them from joining the strike. Although 12 research institutions have officially notified the CMTU to join the strike, all the institutions operated normally yesterday. The CMTU informed that teachers are willing to settle for 15 percent pay raise, instead of the initial 50 percent.

Besides Mongolia, Barbados, Grenada, South Korea, Macao, Panama, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates were delisted “following commitments made at a high political level to remedy EU concerns,” according to a statement from the ministers.

The blacklist was only drawn up in December to discourage the most aggressive tax-dodging practices after several disclosures of off-shore schemes.

Ministers said the delisting was a sign that the process was working as countries around the world were agreeing to adopt EU standards on tax transparency.

The eight delisted jurisdictions have been moved to a so-called gray list, which includes other 47 jurisdictions that have committed to changing their tax rules to abide by EU standards on transparency and cooperation, Reuters said.

Countries on the gray list can be moved back to the blacklist if they fail to respect their engagements.

EU ministers avoided discussing possible sanctions for jurisdictions who remain on the blacklist.

P.Orkhon was thoroughly examined by doping tests before the Asian Games; however, her samples tested positive for highest banned substances. Neither P.Orkhon nor the Mongolian Sports Unions have commented on the case.

News.mn has contacted her coach, Ts.Khosbayar, who failed to go with her to Jakarta. According to him, has been unable to contact a second coach who went with P.Orkhon.

Some athletes said, they witnessed another athlete give something that looks like ‘Mint’ to P.Orkhon and cooked meal for her. Furthermore, P.Orkhon said, she has evidence of the incident. However, the Asian Anti-Doping Federation had not received her complaint, P.Orkhon said.

Ms.Diana Abruzzi, founder of the International Women's Federation of Commerce and Industry (IWFCI) and business leaders and reputable guests from 12 countries will take part in the event themed ‘Global Innovation and Connectivity’.

The participants will enjoy opportunities to strengthen ties and cooperation, showcase their products and services, seek export and import opportunities, elevate their ties with experienced entrepreneurs and leaders in other industries.

In 2016, Mongolia joined the IWFCI as its 13th member.

M.Anudari