As of November, the bank's average gold purchase price was 100,995.34 Mongolian tugriks (about 38 U.S. dollars) per gram.

The bank, which bought 20.01 tons of gold last year, has set a goal to buy 22 tons of gold by the end of this year. But it is expected that the bank will fail to achieve its goal because the three-month peak season for gold mining ended in October, analysts said.

In May, the central bank launched a five-month campaign, "National Gold to the Fund of Treasures," to encourage gold miners and individuals to sell gold to banks.

Trump tweeted on Monday that he is certain he and Xi Jinping, together with Vladimir Putin, will start talking about a meaningful halt to what has become a major and uncontrollable arms race.

This came after he emphasized that US-China relations have taken a big leap forward, referring to his meeting with President Xi in Argentina.

In October, Trump announced that the United States will leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, citing violations by Russia.

Russia had said it was ready to discuss nuclear disarmament at a planned meeting between Putin and Trump on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

But Trump cancelled the meeting, reacting to Russia's recent seizure of Ukrainian naval ships and crewmembers off the coast of Crimea.

It remains to be seen whether the recent apparent thaw in the US-China relations will lead to a full-fledged easing of trade friction between the 2 countries.

The prospects for the US, China and Russia agreeing to discuss disarmament seem far from certain.

During the Conference, Ministers of IAEA Member States responsible for science and technology matters, and Mongolian delegation shared their national experiences, cooperation achievements and further objectives.

Mongolian representative highlighted the roles of science and technology in achieving the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development and that using nuclear science and technology in socioeconomic sectors such as agriculture, health and environment will increase actual benefits.

Mentioning that the IAEA renders supports to Mongolia’s endeavors in introducing nuclear technology and methodology, strengthening human resource and intensifying scientific researches, the Mongolian representative introduced some of effective experiences being realized in the country, for instance introduction of advanced methodology and equipment under cooperation with the IAEA for improvement of cancer treatment, its accessibility and human resource.

Concluding the Ministerial Conference, Ministers of the Member States of IAEA approved a Declaration that appeals to promote the development of nuclear science and technology to achieve the SDGs, expand their use and make it accessible, thereby meeting national development priorities of each Member State and contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The US$1.9 billion (A$2.6 billion) investment in Amrun will replace production from the depleting East Weipa mine and increase annual bauxite exports by around 10 million tonnes. Amrun is expected to reach a full production rate of 22.8 million tonnes a year during 2019.

Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Alf Barrios said "Bringing Amrun online further strengthens our position as a leading supplier in the seaborne market. We have the largest bauxite resources in the industry and are geographically well positioned to supply China’s significant future import needs, as well as supporting our refinery and smelting operations in Australia and New Zealand.

"The Amrun mine will ensure generational jobs for Queenslanders and build significantly on our 55-year history on the Western Cape."

At a ceremony on the Western Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland, more than 80,000 tonnes of bauxite was loaded on to the RTM Weipa bound for Rio Tinto's Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone.

Rio Tinto Growth & Innovation group executive Stephen McIntosh said "We are proud to have delivered the project safely, ahead of time and within budget thanks to innovation in the design and fabrication of key infrastructure purpose-built for construction at Amrun's remote location.

"We thank our community and Traditional Owner partners for their continued support and congratulate the Amrun Project and Weipa Operations teams on this great achievement."

During construction the Amrun development set a benchmark in supporting local and regional suppliers with US$1.6 billion (A$2.1 billion) invested with Australian companies, including US$181 million (A$244 million) invested with local Cape York companies.

At the peak of construction 1,200 people worked on site, and since project inception in May 2016, close to 400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been employed by the project.

Notes to editors

The ceremony marking the first shipment was attended by local Wik-Waya Traditional Owners and representatives of the Western Cape Communities Co-existence Agreement (WCCCA).

The first shipment is expected to arrive in Gladstone next week.

Rio Tinto is the world’s largest producer of bauxite, with production of 50.8 million tonnes last year.

The CGAP, financially supported by the government of the Republic of Korea, will help identify and implement actions and investments to address priority environmental issues in the capital of Mongolia. It is expected that the first project under the framework will be aimed at the improvement of Ulaanbaatar’s solid waste management system.

The launch event was attended by the Chairman of the City Council, S.Amarsaikhan, the Deputy Governor of the City of Ulaanbaatar, J. Batbayasgalan, and the EBRD Head of Mongolia, Irina Kravchenko. It was followed by a workshop, where stakeholders together with GCAP consultants examined the areas of primary importance for the capital.

EBRD Green Cities is a €950 million facility that offers a comprehensive business model for green urban development, combining strategic planning with investment and associated technical assistance.

Green Cities is one way in which the EBRD is scaling up its green financing as a part of its Green Economy Transition (GET) approach. The Bank seeks to increase the volume of green financing to 40 per cent of the EBRD annual investment by 2020.

The EBRD works in Mongolia to build a diverse economy by developing the private sector and supporting infrastructure improvements. The Bank has invested more than €1.5 billion in almost 100 projects in the country since it started operations there in 2006.

The scandal took a toll on Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MFALI), which was responsible for monitoring the fund, and resulted in dismissal of its minister Batzorig Batjargal. Thus, the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) has begun an investigation on six Parliament members. Although the IAAC refused to disclose the names of those MPs, local media outlets suspect Batzorig Batjargal, Sodbaatar Yangug Bolorchuluun Khayngaa, Enkhbayar Jadamba, Uchral Nyam-Osor and Soltan Gombojav to have been involved in the case. Moreover, the recently appointed Minister of Road and Transport Development Sodbaatar Yangug held a press conference yesterday and disclosed his involvement with the fund scandal and submitted his resignation letter to the Prime Minister.

• SMEs have lost access to financing as the fund currently has no officials that can authorize loans.

• MNT 72.4 billion was allocated to SME Development Fund to finance 132 projects this year

• The situation will only be settled if the Parliament appoints the next Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry.

However, in the middle of commotion in politics, SMEs are waiting for financing from the fund. This year, MNT 72.4 billion was allocated to the fund to finance 132 projects, out of which 80 percent were in local provinces. The average repayment rate of the fund stood positive at 93.5 percent according to Enkh-Amar Mijidsuren, Head of Policy and Planning Department of MFALI. He informed that an acting Chairman of the fund was appointed; however, the incoming minister needs to enforce his authority before any fund can be released. The situation will only be settled if the Parliament appoints the next Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry.

Ya.Sodbaatar, the Minister of Road and Transportation Development presented his resignation letter to the PM over the ongoing scandal of Small and Medium Enterprises Fund. The letter was accepted and now will be presented to the President Battulga.

Separate from this, the Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh decided to sack Ts.Tsogzolmaa, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sports from her job over irresponsible behaviour including direct criticism of her boss.

Previously, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industries, who was responsible for spending SME funding, was removed from his job.

The sides discussed about establishing U.S. Cultural Center in Darkhan-Uul aimag and making contributions to youth education, teaching English and outspreading the country's culture. They agreed to convey the issue to Ambassador of the United States and cooperate in involving youths in Darkhan in scholarship programs announced by the U.S. Government.

Following the meeting, Mr. Robert Tate gave a lecture under subject ‘Right Career Choice-Bright Future’ to the students and youths in the aimag. The students said that the lecture gave impetus to opening up opportunities to them to study at colleges and universities in the United States with scholarships, choosing their career right and resolving issues related to tuition fee.