Opening the symposium, President Battulga Khaltmaa addressed, “I have been committed towards the regulation of coordination among government agencies designated to ensure national security and met the authorities of these agencies three times in person to give instructions. We are seeing definite results after the designated agencies worked on an integrated plan for joint implementation. This symposium is one of the actions set out in the integrated plan.”

As reports indicate, 40-45 people lose their lives every day in average and 15,000-17,000 people annually die due to road, occupational and other accidents, alcohol and chemical poisoning, suicide, homicide, violence, diseases, and other external causes. This estimation is close to the number of civil war casualties in Syria in the first ten months of 2018. “Our living environment has grown similar to that of a war,” distressed the President.

He added, “This regrettable state is directly linked to the Government’s failure to fulfill its duty to provide a healthy and safe living environment for its citizens. Therefore, I hope that you will have a weighty discussion on how to reduce the number of such untimely deaths, come up with tangible solutions and implement them effectively. There should be no wealth valuable than a Mongolian in this country. I am instructing you to organize such a symposium every year from now on. When you meet again next year, the above-mentioned distressing numbers should be reduced. I expect only good results from you.”

As reports indicate, 40-45 people lose their lives due to accidents every day

According to a spokesperson of the Policy Authority, human fatality rates grew notably in the last three years. Crime-related deaths are mostly caused by unemployment, high stress, substance abuse, direct and indirect influences of digital environment. The police suggested that focusing on alcoholism reduction, safespace for children against domestic abuse and traffic safety is crucial for reducing fatality rates.

Welcoming the public’s initiative to make their voices heard, the UN in Mongolia expressed concern over the high levels of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar and other cities, which put lives at risk and particularly impact children, pregnant women, elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions.

“Mongolia is among a growing number of countries facing this challenge. There are no quick fixes. It will take sustained, longterm public and private sector investments to resolve the causes of air pollution, as well as mitigate its impact on public health. This includes addressing the sources of air pollution and reducing emissions by providing amongst other things greater options for citizens to adopt clean energy, better insulation in homes (including gers) and reducing coal-based power. It also includes reducing exposure by improving indoor air quality, improving air monitoring, providing real-time advice on when to avoid being outside and - when absolutely necessary - to go out in well-fitted, filtering face masks,” wrote the UN.

The UN also expressed support to the Mongolian Government and society with technical advice on reducing exposure, strengthening health services, promoting energy efficiency and clean heating, as well as long term plans for renewable energy.

“While the UN is a source of policy and methodology guidance, action and financing need to be driven by domestic partners, including the government. The business community, civil society and the public at large all have a role to play, in ensuring that the right to a healthy and safe environment for every Mongolian is safeguarded. The fight against air pollution is one of our highest priorities in Mongolia. The UN stands ready to work with all parties-from the government, to business and citizens - on developing further solutions together towards clean, safe air for all,” addressed UN in Mongolia.

According to the Paris-based body, coal consumption will rise by an average of 0.2% a year from 5,355 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce) in 2017 to 5,418 Mtce in 2023. This is because falling demand in western Europe and North America is likely to be offset by increased demand in a host of Asian countries, including China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, the report reads.

“Despite significant media attention being given to divestments and moves away from coal, market trends are proving resistant to change,” states the report.

In a growing number of countries, the agency says, the elimination of coal-fired generation is a key climate policy goal. In others, coal remains the preferred source of electricity and is seen as abundant and affordable.

While coal remains the second-largest global source of primary energy, behind oil, the EIA says cheap, cleaner-burning natural gas and renewable energy sources continue to eat into coal's share of the global energy mix.

By 2023, it expects coal to provide 25% of the world's energy, down from 27% currently.

Miners, however, should brace for another period of slow growth as current high prices for coal are not leading to investments in new mines. The IEA attributes that to local opposition and policies aimed at combating climate change creating uncertainty about future demand.

"Banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, utilities and other operators in advanced economies are exiting the coal business," the agency says. "In many parts of the world, growing opposition to coal projects has provided strong disincentives for investors."

The IEA's forecast comes days after nearly 200 countries agreed to rules for implementing a landmark climate deal aimed at curbing emissions from fossil fuels.

In addition, Forbes has named Mongolia as one of 10 best tourism destination for 2019 and Insider has listed Mongolia as one of the 13 best destinations to spend a honeymoon.

"The Bank of Mongolia, which bought 20.01 tons of gold last year, has set a goal to increase its gold purchases by at least 10 percent this year. But it is now expected that the bank will fail to achieve its goal due to several factors, including a low rate on the London Metal Exchange," the bank's spokesperson Ariun Dagva told Xinhua on Tuesday, adding that the three-month peak season for gold mining in the country ended in October.

"Our experts now expect that the volume of gold purchases will reach 21 tons by end of this year," Ariun said.

As of mid-December, the Bank of Mongolia purchased 20 tons of gold from legal entities and individuals, up 3 percent compared with the same period last year, she said.

The country's annual gold production has remained below 21 tons since 2005 when it reached its record high of 25 tons

The first wave of reform, which lasted from 1978 to 1989, was characterized by agricultural reform and revival of the private sector. The second wave of reform (from 1992 to 2012) resulted in the legalization of the market economy, China’s accession to the WTO, and a booming private sector.

China’s record in poverty reduction since reform and opening up is without parallel in human history, according to Wang Yiwei, professor of the School of International Studies at Renmin University.

“Between 1978 and 2017, China’s economy expanded at an annual average 9.5 percent growth rate, increasing in size almost 35 times,” he told Xinhua News.

The total expansion of China’s economy over a 39 year period was almost three times as much as Japan’s, Ross noted, adding that “No other economy commencing sustained rapid economic growth even remotely approaches the 22.3 percent of the world’s population as China had in 1978 at the beginning of reform and opening up.”

Experts, including those from the Chinese Commerce Ministry, say Beijing should stick to the reform and opening up policy if it wants to resolve trade tensions with the United States.

“Over the decades, our thoughts on reform and opening up should have been updated. The economic growth and better standards of living [achieved] should have provided very solid evidence [of the need] to continue with reforms and opening up,” said He Ning, a former Chinese Commerce Ministry official dealing with US issues.

The trade war with the US has undermined investor confidence in China and clouded growth prospects. China’s growth has slowed in the third quarter of this year to its lowest in a decade and is expected to continue slowing down in the fourth quarter and the first half of 2019.

Authorities, who met last week, are aiming to focus on the “powerful home market” to drive growth through trade turmoil. They plan to accelerate economic reform and push forward with “all-around opening-up,” according to Xinhua News report.

It pointed out that in 2019 Beijing aims to control financial risks, curb pollution and further reduce poverty. The government will try to keep economic growth within a reasonable range and work to stabilize employment, finance, trade, investment and market expectations, the report stated.

“Although the uncertainty remains in the external environment, the balance of trade (BoP) came out in surplus in November, which is indicating potentials to stabilize foreign exchange (FX) rates,” highlighted the Monetary Policy Committee in its report.

The BoP deficit fell by USD 51 million in October as the USD 500 million bond financing of Development Bank of Mongolia was completed in the same month. However, the Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund have warned of potential surge in current account.

Discussion on revision to the Law on Minerals, which stated to extend 2.5 percent gold royalties by five years, has been postponed with the Parliament’s delay of four consecutive plenary sessions. The BoM informed that if the bill is not ratified before 2019, gold royalties will jump to 7-9 percent, which could obstruct gold purchase of BoM and FX reserves.

BoM had an initial plan to increase FX reserves by USD 750 million by purchasing 21 tons of gold this year.

Regarding the inflation, which exceeded the BoM target level of 8 percent, reaching 8.1 percent nationwide and 9.3 percent in Ulaanbaatar last month, the bank explained that the jump in prices of solid fuel (coal and wood), petroleum and meat were the key drivers in inflation growth. These three accounted for 5 percentage point of inflation in Ulaanbaatar. The BoM further addressed that the price of petroleum imported from Rosneft has declined this month and expects inflation to ease down in the following quarter.

Outdoor air pollution is the most significant environmental risk faced by children in Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia’s capital hosts about half of the country’s total population and its air pollution is among the highest in the world during the winter. The vast majority of that pollution is caused by the burning of cheap coal for heating of homes. The pollution is significantly linked to acute respiratory infections, such as pneumonia.

However, these days, the inhabitants of the Mongolian capital cannot afford to buy meat because of high prices: one kilogram of beef currently costs MNT 10.210 (approximately USD 4) in Ulaanbaatar. Last week, for example, a kilogram of mutton sold at MNT 6680, a kilogram of beef at MNT 10210, a kilogram of goat meat at MNT 5400 and a kilogram of horse meat at MNT 6450. Our investigators decided not to visit an expensive food shop, but rather the Khuchit Shonkhor market, which is known to be the cheapest market in Ulaanbaatar.

According to National Statistics Office, as of 12 December, the price of consumer products has increased by 5.4 percent from the previous month and by 2.9 percent from last week.

Mongolians use meat on a daily basis as it is totally central to the national diet.