Mongolia's economy in 2019 is predicted to expand by 6.6 percent, according to "Navigating Uncertainty," the October 2018 edition of the WB East Asia and Pacific Economic Update.

Private investment supported by foreign direct investment and private sector credit will remain a key driver for growth in the medium term, especially in the mining, manufacturing and transport services, Jean-Pascal N. Nganou, WB Senior Economist for Mongolia, said at a press conference.

"The Mongolian economy has shown good performance in the first quarter of 2018. Particularly, growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) increased from 5.1 percent in 2017 to 6.1 percent in the first quarter of this year," Nganou said, adding that Mongolia's economic growth is expected to continue.

Meanwhile, there are some domestic and external risks to Mongolia's economic growth, including the 2020 election which could delay the implementation of mega projects in the mining sector, trade tensions between major economies, and commodity market volatility, the bank warned.

The country's economy is heavily dependent on the mining industry, which contributes to about a quarter of the country's GDP and more than 90 percent of its exports.

The country will host a "small group of like-minded" trade ministers in Ottawa in late October to discuss the global trade body.

Officials say countries like the US and China will be included at a later date in the reforms discussion process.

The European Union, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea are expected to attend.

Brazil, Chile, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland are also invited to the 24 and 25 October meeting.

"We recognize the challenges inside the WTO and believe in finding ways to do the work necessary to push for reforms," said Joseph Pickerill, a press officer for federal International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr, in a statement to the BBC.

"Canada is leading that effort."

US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his dislike of multilateral international trade deals, and has threatened to pull the United States out of the WTO "if they don't shape up".

The president has said he believes the global trade body too often rules against the US in disputes.

China, meanwhile, has been accused of not being completely transparent in opening up its economy the way it committed to under the WTO.

Both major powers have also been involved in a trade war that sees each imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars of goods ranging from suitcases to cutlery, wheat and wine.

Analysts warn the dispute will have an economic knock-on effect for the rest of the world.

The WTO is at the heart of the system of rules for international trade.

Bloomberg reported in September that Canada was seeking to forge an alliance of countries that support a rules-based multilateral trading system and that will defend it against rising protectionism.

Canada's plans focused on improving the effectiveness of the trade monitoring system, modernising trade rules, and strengthening dispute settlement mechanisms, the news agency said.

US and Canada relations have been tense in recent months as the two renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement, now renamed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

An agreement in principle on the USMCA was reached late on Sunday night after some 14 months of talks.

In relation to a murder incident at the the Ministry of Road and Transportation Development and a train accident in Dornogobi aimag in August, the Government made a decision to dismiss the top officials of the Ministry. Minister J.Bat-Erdene had also submitted his resignation request, admitting his responsibility for the incidents. And the Government's proposal on dismissal of Minister J.Bat-Erdene was discussed and approved by the Parliament yesterday.

Ya.Sodbaatar, physician-engineer, worked as Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade in 2006-2008, Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the State Professional Inspection Agency in 2009-2010, Secretary of Mongolian People's Party in 2010-2012 and member of parliament since 2012.

Lee was sentenced in a Seoul court on Friday on charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, and ordered to pay a 13 billion won ($11.5m; £8.8m) fine.

The former president claims the charges are politically motivated.

He becomes the fourth South Korean former leader to be jailed, following his successor's imprisonment in April.

Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 33 years in jail after being found guilty of abuse of power and coercion.

The judge at Seoul Central District Court said "heavy punishment for the accused is inevitable" because of the serious nature of the crimes.

The court found the former leader accepted billions of won from major electronics firm Samsung in return for pardoning its chairman, Lee Kun-hee. The company denies having given the former president the money.

Links between political leaders and large family-owned conglomerates known as chaebols have often come under scrutiny, or been the focus of criminal allegations.

The mining sector is expected to generate 3 trillion MNT ( or 27.1 percent) of the state's revenue in the upcoming year, a YOY increase of 1.3 trillion MNT. State authorities have projected the price for coal to be 75.9 USD per ton and copper at 6,222.2 USD per ton

The Gold-2 national program has set a goal to increase gold production by 2-3 tons per year and 25 tons by 2020. Bayartsaikhan Nadmid, the Governor of the BoM, informed, “The rising external uncertainty is posing a risk for Mongolia as the country is heavily dependent on global market. We need to strengthen our immunity. It is important to constantly grow foreign exchange reserves in doing so. FX reserve can help protect us from debt repayments, reduce its impact and maintain the national currency rate. It is also important for financial independence. For instance, countries with high reserves of foreign exchange suffered less during the global crisis in 2008-2009.” After highlighting the sluggish explorations, depleting placer deposits and illegal artisanal miners as pressing issues in gold industry, the Mining Minister announced to commence exploration for major deposits soon. He then pointed out that there was a policy error in the rehabilitation of placer gold deposits and announced to take immediate actions. Minister of Environment and Tourism Tserenbat Namsrai remarked, “We demanded mining companies to fulfill their duties obliged by the law before the beginning of this year’s business cycle. We have drafted the bill on mining rehabilitation and its concepts, as well as the Rules of Procedure.”

Several billion pounds of inward investment is expected to enter Kazakhstan over the next five years, as global organizations seek to benefit from a streamlining of government services, additional opportunities linked to the New Silk Road and increased investment support.

Kazakh Invest, the national organization for attracting global FDI, lead the charge for greater inward investment by highlighting the levels of support that Kazakh Invest offers potential investors across many sectors.

Kazakh Invest Chairman Saparbek Tuyakbayev told investors how Kazakh Invest acts as a “one-stop-shop” for investment support and said that it was actively working with dozens of global organizations already looking to invest in Kazakhstan.

Tuyakbayev told forum participants that Kazakh Invest had identified and prepared 70 specialist projects across agriculture, chemicals, mining and metallurgy, Kazakh Invest has identified and prepared 70 specialist projects across agriculture, chemicals, mining and metallurgy engineering, retail, tourism, and energy, offering opportunities for international investors.

Askar Zhumagaliyev, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, said the country is “emerging as a regional hub for business, investment and transit.”

The UK Government’s Trade Envoy Baroness Emma Nicholson spoke of a growing number of areas for meaningful cooperation between British investors and Kazakh companies. She suggested that Kazakh businesses could learn much from UK companies about increasing their organizations’ ‘added value’ by moving towards a more knowledge-based economy.

Potential investors also heard from leaders of British businesses already operating in Kazakhstan. Nick Clarke, Chairman of extractive’s firm CAML praised the business-friendly environment and the highly-skilled, multilingual workforce.

The forum was the first of several senior level roadshows being co-hosted by Kazakh Invest internationally. The next event is scheduled in New York tomorrow.