The forum was participated by officials led by Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Tsogtbaatar, Secretary General of Party Committee of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Li Jiheng, Ambassador of China to Mongolia Xing Haiming and President of Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry B.Lkhagvajav.

Foreign Affairs Minister D.Tsogtbaatar said that trade turnover between the two countries is increasing intensively. Also the sides are intending to bring this growth to USD 10 billion. Trade turnover with China upped by about 30 percent in recent years. Implementation of these agreements signed today will take time to be fully realized, but it is impossible to change agreed cooperation and trade price. Thus this kind of forum has significant importance to Mongolia’s economic growth.”

The forum aimed to introduce investors and businessmen of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Mongolia and to make progress in bilateral economic ties. Mongolia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have common values regarding culture, customs and lifestyle and we consider that it creates favorable business condition. Therefore businesses of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region make up some 50 percent of business cooperation between Mongolia and China. We intend to study Mongolia’s business trends in the next three years and support for foreign investors, said Setsen, Vice-Director of the Trade Chamber of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

B.Batchimeg

The yuan’s share jumped to 2.8 percent in the last quarter of 2017 from one percent in the third quarter of last year, according to the Bank of Russia report published Monday. The Chinese currency, along with a 17.2 percent share of gold, now make up one fifth of Russia’s reserves.

Russia is buying more yuan assets than other global central banks. With the buying spree of almost $12 billion in the second half of 2018, the Bank of Russia made the yuan share in its holdings much higher than the global 1.4 percent.

Chinese currency has become a more desired asset for Russia since the introduction of sanctions against the country in 2014 by the US, the EU and their Western allies.

Since then Russia has made a pivot to China, signing yuan-ruble swap agreements to boost share of settlements between countries in national currencies.

The majority of the Bank of Russia’s assets are still in US dollars, but the greenback's role is gradually declining. The dollar's share in Russia's reserves fell to 45.8 percent in the fourth quarter from 46.5 percent in the previous three months.

“The rise in the share of yuan assets, albeit still relatively small, reflects Russia’s intentions to diversify away from major currencies,” Piotr Matys, an emerging-markets currency strategist at Rabobank told Bloomberg.

But “it will not be easy for Russia to significantly reduce the share of the dollar in its reserves given that the greenback is still one of the most liquid currencies,” he added.

“Mongolia’s economy slowed down recently with the country’s gross domestic product growth declining from a high of 17.3% in 2011 to 5.1% in 2017,” said ADB Director for East Asia Transport and Communications Ms. Sujata Gupta. “Having safe and reliable road networks will help Mongolia foster economic activities through trade and tourism, which will underpin the economic outlook.”

Mr. Masahiro Nishimura, ADB Senior Transport Specialist for East Asia, highlighted the importance of infrastructure investments, not only on development but also on rehabilitation and maintenance, and regional integration to improve connectivity and access to domestic and external markets, given Mongolia’s urgent needs to restore macroeconomic stability in the short term and develop a more resilient and diversified economy that can deliver rapid, inclusive, and sustainable growth.

Currently, Mongolia has a road network of about 48,538 km, but only about 13.2% are paved—a situation that affects the country’s growth prospects, particularly on jobs, trade, and connectivity. The project and its attached technical assistance will improve Mongolia’s road asset management practices. Mr. Nishimura noted that investing in road improvement and maintenance is crucial because it creates jobs, provides people with better connectivity and access to markets and public services such as schools and hospitals, and improves road safety.

The Regional Road Development and Maintenance Project will rehabilitate and enhance the safety of road corridor sections, Mongolia’s crucial links with the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, along Ulaanbaatar–Darkhan and Darkhan–Altanbulag. The road improvement project will promote inclusive economic growth through increased trade, as well as boost agriculture, agribusiness, and tourism.
Road safety in the project areas will also be improved, including the installation of road markings, barriers, and guide posts. Independent road safety audits will be conducted.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2017, ADB operations totaled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in co-financing.

On 29th June, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed Record of Discussions with Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Air Pollution Reducing Department of Capital City (APRD), mutually agreed upon the framework and contents of technical cooperation for the “Capacity Development Project for Air Pollution Control in Ulaanbaatar City Phase 3”.

JICA has been supporting capacity development of Ulaanbaatar City in the field of air pollution reduction for seven years through the technical cooperation project Phase 1 and Phase 2. The purpose of the project Phase 3 is to strengthen the capacity for air pollution control in Ulaanbaatar city, paying special attention to the implementation of effective pollution control measures and to the establishment of the necessary coordinating mechanism among APRD and other relevant agencies. The tentative duration of the project will be five (5) years from autumn 2018.

The following outputs will be expected to be achieved through the project:

Capabilities of emission monitoring for the major pollution sources and of air quality monitoring are strengthened.
Capabilities to analyze and evaluate pollution structure of PM, SO2 and NOx throughout the year are strengthened.
Capabilities of technical evaluation and preparation of air pollution control measures for implementation are strengthened.
Decision making process for air pollution control is improved by utilizing the professional agencies, including APRD, National Agency for Meteorology and Environment Monitoring (NAMEM) and the relevant agencies.
Air pollution control measures are enhanced for PM, SO2 and NOX emission reduction at major sources.
Legal framework, resource allocation and coordinating mechanism as a Platform for the Air Quality Management Cycle are strengthened for the Outputs 1 to 5.

'To achieve the goals, we have to attract more investment. We are working to optimise the business environment and make tax reforms in a bid to restore foreign investor confidence,' D.Damba-Ochir, head of the Parliamentary Economic Standing Committee said.

Mongolia's GDP grew 5.1 percent year on year in 2017, compared to 1.0 percent the previous year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted Mongolia's GDP growth will be 5 percent this year and climb to 6.3 percent next year.

After a corruption trial, the outspoken entrepreneur whose meteoric rise and fall made him the poster boy of a decade-long boom in Brazil that ended four years ago, was found guilty of bribing former Rio de Janeiro governor Sergio Cabral, Folha de Sao Paulo reports (in Portuguese).

He was found guilty of giving about $21 million to former Rio de Janeiro governor Sergio Cabra in exchange for contracts.
The verdict was based on mounting evidence that Batista had paid about $21 million to foreign bank accounts held by Cabral in exchange for contracts with Rio State.

The 61-year old businessman’s fortune topped out at a whopping $32.8 billion in April 2012, when his oil and gas firm OGX's first wells went into production and his coal, iron ore, shipping and many other ventures were humming along.

The self-made magnate started out with small-scale gold mining in the Amazon which morphed into TVX Gold, a company listed in Canada in the 1980s, but which Batista left under a cloud before it was sold to Kinross Gold in 2001.

Batista's graduated to the big leagues during the last decade's commodities boom with gold, iron ore, oil & gas, shipping, coal, construction and sports promotion companies.

He really scored big in 2008, when it sold Minas Rio iron ore mine to Anglo American (LON:AAL), pocketing $5.5 billion and offloading an iron ore asset that required many billions more to put into production.

But poor planning and corruption caused his empire to crumble and Batista is now, if anything, a symbol of the current Brazil, a country in deep trouble whose economy grew just 1% in 2017, its first year of expansion since 2014.

The 12 edition of the festival is co-organized by the Mongolian Tourism Association, Ulan Bator city governor's office and the city's Tourism Department.

The event includes a fashion parade, the best deel contest and a folk music concert.

Deel is an item of traditional Mongolian clothing commonly worn for centuries.

There are some differences between the costumes of various ethnic groups in the country, but all the deels have the same shape, featuring long sleeves, a wide flap that gets folded at the chest, buttons on the right shoulder, a high collar, and a fabric belt around the waist.

The Mongolian traditional costume consists of a deel, a hat, boots and accessories.

Editor: Shi Yinglun

She will be presenting a ministerial statement as well as delivering a keynote address and a speech at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on Wednesday.

The ministerial statement will be on Malaysia's initiatives, implementation and achievements as well as the challenges faced in regards to disaster risk reduction.

The conference, taking place from July 3 to 6, is aimed at providing a platform for Asian and Asia-Pacific nations to congregate and discuss the various issues revolving around the mitigation and management of natural disasters.

According to Malaysian Ambassador to China concurrently accredited to Mongolia Datuk Zainuddin Yahya, Dr Wan Azizah will also have one bilateral meeting and four courtesy calls on the sidelines.

"Basically there will be three events she will be participating, which is the ministerial conference followed by the Asian leaders meeting and then the technical session,'' said Zainuddin, adding the keynote address will be delivered at the technical session.

On the conference, Zainuddin it is held once every two years to provide Asian and Asia-Pacific nations to share information to discuss various aspects of disaster risk reduction related to their respective countries.

This is Dr Wan Azizah's first working visit overseas since taking office as Deputy Prime Minister.

Jointly organised by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Mongolian government, is the first gathering of the ministerial leaders after the launch of the Sendai Framework Monitor (SFM) in 2015 signed in Sendai, Japan.

The SFM was a prelude to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030, which is an agreement amongst Asian and Asia-Pacific nations to share information on efforts taken in the implementation of risk reduction in their respective countries.

Some of the core principles of the Sendai Framework are aimed at reducing mortality, economic loss, and damage to property and infrastructure during natural disasters by the year 2030 through close corporation amongst all stake holders as well as the formulation of a comprehensive preventive mechanism.

Dr Wan Azizah is scheduled to leave for home early Thursday (July 5) morning.

State-owned China Mobile applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a licence to do so in 2011.

But the US Department of Commerce has recommended the licence request be denied.

The advice comes amid rising trade tensions between the US and China.

"After significant engagement with China Mobile, concerns about increased risks to US law enforcement and national security interests were unable to be resolved," said the assistant secretary for communications and information at the Commerce Department, David J Redl.

"Therefore, the executive branch of the US government, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration [NTIA]... recommends that the FCC deny China Mobile's Section 214 license request."

Neither China Mobile nor the FCC were immediately available for comment on what their next steps would be.

The move by the NTIA - an arm of the Commerce Department that advises US President Donald Trump on telco and information issues - comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and China over trade and telecom issues.

In April, the Commerce Department found that the Chinese state-owned technology giant ZTE had violated trade bans with North Korea and Iran.

A ban was placed on the firm that prevented it from buying parts from US suppliers - a move that forced Shenzhen-based ZTE to suspend major operations, and threatened to destroy its business.

However, following some pressure from Beijing, the US struck a deal with ZTE that would involve the firm paying a $1bn penalty, hiring a compliance team chosen by the US, and replacing much of its management board, among other measures.

US reaches deal with China's ZTE
China's ZTE 'poses risk to UK security'
In return, the US said it would remove the ban - a negotiation that has been linked to wider trade tensions between the US and China.

ZTE has fulfilled many of these requirements, however, a group of bipartisan senators, including US Senator for Florida Marco Rubio, is currently attempting to maintain the ban on the firm via an amendment to a defense bill.

Reacting to research by The Wall Street Journal that has shown ZTE's management overhaul may not be as dramatic as first thought, Mr Rubio last week questioned why the Trump administration was continuing negotiations with the Chinese firm.

Meanwhile, on Friday, as part of the ongoing trade spat between the US and China, the two giants are expected to introduce further tariffs on each other's goods.

The Trump administration is expected to bring into effect the first tranche of 25% tariffs on $34bn of Chinese goods.

And in retaliation, China is expected to enact its first round of tariffs on $34bn worth of US products.