In this frame, a group led by S.Batbold, head of the Road Transport Policy Implementation and Coordination Department of the Ministry of Road and Transport Development worked in Germany, Czech Republic and Slovakia on June 18-22.

During the working trip, the Mongolian delegation met with representatives of transport ministries of the three countries to share views on finalizing the draft agreement, exchange consent notes on executing freight transportation and discussed joint actions to be taken to sign the document.

As of 2017, Mongolia and Germany made trade of about USD 160 million. Russian and Belarusian freight forwarders are carrying freight from Berlin to Mongolia once to twice a week. Therefore, there is necessity to increase volume of trade turnover as well as to make legal regulation regarding transit transportation. The regulation will make it possible to expand bilateral socio-economic cooperation, S.Batbold said at the meeting with delegation of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

As for the trade turnover between Mongolia and Czech Republic, it reached USD 8.3 million in 2017. In exchanging views on finalizing the draft agreement, the parties expressed their interest in expanding cooperation in training personnel and sharing practices.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Slovakia and the sides shared views on signing the agreement during the celebration of the anniversary.

As a result of discussing the draft agreement with the three countries and agreeing to launch transportation as per consent note, Mongolian freight forwarders have got able to transport freights to these countries.

The Ministry plans to hold meeting with authorities of corresponding Ministries of Hungary and Poland on international road transportation.

Currently, Mongolia has established intergovernmental agreements on international road transportation with nine countries.

B.Batchimeg

A solar power plant with capacity of 15 MW opened on Friday in Zamiin-Uud soum in Dornogovi province. Other two solar power plants with the capacity of producing 30 MW and 20 MW of electricity each will be put into operation by the end of this year in the province.

A wind farm with a total capacity of 55 MW is planned to commission in late 2018 nearby Sainshand city, capital of the province.

Mongolia, a landlocked country with a population of 3 million, enjoys more than 250 days of sunshine a year. The country's renewable energy capacity nearly doubled last year, reaching 155 MW, according to the Ministry of Energy.

Mongolia's first large solar power plant, with a capacity of 10 MW, was installed in the country's northern province of Darkhan-Uul in January 2017. The country's second wind farm, the 50 MW Tsetsii Wind Farm, also opened in October that year.

So far, Mongolia gets less than 5 percent of its power from renewable energy, including solar and wind. The government aims to make renewable energy use account for 20 percent by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030.

According to Mongolia's Ministry of Energy, the country has a potential wind capacity of 1,100 gigawatts.

The launch of the new store came after Lotte GRS Co. signed a franchise agreement with cinema equipment supplier Eugenetek Mongolia LLC in September last year.

Lotte GRS said it plans to operate up to 10 Lotteria outlets in Mongolia by 2022.

Founded in 1979, the food affiliate of South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate has thousands of stores under six brands nationwide, including the hamburger chain Lotteria and the cafe chain Angel-in-us Coffee.

The latest inroads into Mongolia raised the number of overseas countries with the firm's presence to eight, including Vietnam, China and Indonesia. (Yonhap)

While the next nine years will drain less than 1% of the reserves in the ground, battery makers will need more lithium to support their production, which will boost demand for the key metal almost 16% to reach 1 million tonnes, according to Roskill’s 15th edition market outlook report.

Expected supply, however, is far from the astronomical figure forecast by the research firm, with Canada’s Bank of Montreal expecting between 80,000 and 91,500 tonnes of lithium coming from mines by 2025. And BMO’s numbers include recently up-sized expansion plans by the market leaders, Chile’s SQM, China’s Tianqi Lithium, Albemarle and FMC, as well as Nemaska Lithium’s plans to build a spodumene mine in northwestern Quebec, Canada.

Roskill estimates that demand from lithium-ion battery manufacturers will grow from 46% last year to 83% by 2027. Use of lithium hydroxide, in turn, is also forecast to become more prevalent, increasing from 25% of lithium compounds used in rechargeable batteries in 2021 to 55% by 2027.

The analysts expect the market for battery-grade lithium compounds to remain tight, however, as installing new battery grade capacity has proven complex and forecast demand growth is greatest for these products.

In terms of lithium prices, they are expected to peak in 2018, as greater supply availability of mined and refined lithium will enter the market in coming years, causing prices to briefly fall back in 2019, with a floor of $11,000/t battery grade lithium carbonate, Roskill says.

Beyond 2021, the research firm expects lithium prices to rise above 2018 levels again, as continued demand growth for battery grade lithium compounds will apply greater demand-side pressure on prices.

Since June 15, the central bank has received requests from commercial banks to purchase a combined 290 million USD in foreign currency. The Bank of Mongolia reported that Mongolia's foreign currency reserves are sufficient to prevent sudden fluctuations in the currency market. As of April 2018, the official reserves had reached 2.98 billion USD, an increase of 142 percent compared to the same period in 2017.

Analysts forecast that Mongolia's foreign currency inflow could increase as 836 million USD will come through the financing scheme for the International Monetary Fund’s extended fund facility program.

At the beginning of the meeting, Minister B.Batzorig presented the current conditions of food, agriculture and light industry sector and SMEs in Mongolia, including the draft law on promoting SMEs.

Mr. William Tompson mentioned that under the project on promoting SMEs, four recommendations have been worked out on developing cooperation between banks and financial institutions, improving credit guarantee system, easing the process of receiving loans, and improving the knowledge of entrepreneurs.

In response, Minister B.Batzorig expressed gratitude to the OECD for making significant contribution to the development of the SMEs in Mongolia, and forwarded a request to support Mongolia in creating credit products meeting SMEs demands, enhancing financial access, improving fund governance and activities encouraging SMEs, boosting exports of agricultural and light industrial products.

The sides highlighted an importance of trade and transportation issues for augmenting agricultural and light industrial products’ export and agreed to work on ‘Improving Transport Connectivity in Central Asia’ project in 2018.

M.Anudari

“During the bilateral talks the Home Minister held with the Mongolian leadership, both sides agreed on the need to step up cooperation in a number of areas such as air connectivity, trade and economy, energy security, mining, traditional medicine, animal husbandry, capacity building, education, people-to-people contacts, media exchanges and in films,” the statement said on Sunday.

Rajnath Singh called on President K. Battulga and held talks with Prime Minister U. Khurelsukh, Deputy Prime Minister U. Enkhtuvshin, and Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Ts. Nyamdorj on wide-ranging issues of bilateral interest, including cooperation between India and Mongolia in disaster risk reduction, border management, and capacity building programmes in security domain.

He, along with Khurelsukh, presided over the ground-breaking ceremony of Mongolia’s first petrochemical refinery project, which India is assisting.

“The refinery will be built with a Line of Credit of $1 billion extended by India, which was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mongolia in 2015. The Mongolian side expressed appreciation for India’s support for this project. Both sides agreed that the refinery project will contribute to Mongolia’s economic development and long-term energy security,” the statement said.

The Home Minister also visited the headquarters of the Mongolian General Authority for Border Protection (GABP) and announced India’s decision to provide a high capacity server for their main control centre in order to assist them in more efficient border management, said the statement, adding GABP and India’s Border Security Force have ongoing exchanges and cooperation under an MoU signed in 2015.

Rajnath Singh’s visit to Mongolia comes as a part of sustained high-level exchanges between the two countries. Most recently, Modi met with the Mongolian President on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, China, on June 10. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj paid an official visit to Mongolia on April 25-26.

India and Mongolia, joined by the common thread of Buddhism, are spiritual neighbours, the statement said, adding the relationship was upgraded to a Strategic Partnership in 2015 during Modi’s visit, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations.

The paper, citing people familiar with the plans, also said that the US will block more technology exports to China. US President Donald has been complaining since his election campaign that Beijing is taking advantage of the US in terms of trade, while lawmakers have frequently raised concerns over US technology stolen by China.

“We’ve got trillions of dollars seeking our crown jewels of technology,” the newspaper quotes White House trade adviser Peter Navarro as saying. “There has to be a defense against that.”

Chinese investment in the United States already declined by 92 percent to $1.8 billion in the first five months of this year – its lowest level in seven years.

Last week, the White House introduced a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of Chinese imports to the country. Trump threatened to hit another $200-billion of Chinese goods with an extra 10 percent tariff after Beijing retaliated.

On Sunday, he conveyed the same message to all US trade partners.

China Daily has accused the Trump administration of “manipulative maneuvers," trying to preserve the global economic system, which is working to America’s benefit. “However, times have changed,” the state newspaper said in an editorial headlined, “Protectionism symptom of paranoid delusions.”

Singh visited the Gandantsegchinlen Monastery here and met with the Supreme Leader of the Centre of All Mongolian Buddhists and Abbot of the Monastery, Lama Gabju Choijamts Demberel.

"India is committed to further strengthen its cultural bond with Mongolia," Singh said in another tweet.
India and Mongolia, joined by the common thread of Buddhism, are spiritual neighbours, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement in New Delhi.
Singh said he had a fruitful meeting with President of Mongolia Battulga Khaltmaa at the State Palace in Ulaanbaatar.
Yesterday, the minister called on Prime Minister of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and discussed with him a wide range of bilateral issues including border management, disaster management and cyber security.
On Friday, Mongolia broke ground for the construction of the landlocked country's first oil refinery with the help of a $1 billion loan from India which Singh described as an important milestone in the bilateral ties.