There are currently 2 main statuses for non-Japanese workers. One is for people employed in 18 professional categories, including professors, doctors and lawyers.

The other is for people who take part in a technical intern program.

The newly proposed status would allow foreigners with certain skills to work in the country for up to 5 years. Those who have completed internships would be eligible on the condition they do not bring their families to Japan.

The government would require companies employing these workers to draw up support plans that help them settle in and arrange accommodation. Businesses would be asked to submit reports to the Justice Ministry.

The government adds it is also considering allowing those status-holders to stay in the country indefinitely if they pass stipulated exams during their 5-year stay.

The government plans to include the proposal in this year's basic policy in economic and fiscal management and reform.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Chinese President on his re-election and conveyed President Kh.Battulga’s greetings.

The sides expressed mutual commitment to reinforce political trust based on respect of each other’s core interests and to maintain the frequency of high-level visits. The sides agreed to mark the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations with a grand celebration next year.

While acknowledging wide opportunities to boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation, the sides agreed on several actions to be taken to reach the goal to increase bilateral trade turnover to USD 10 billion by 2020 – intensify cooperation mechanisms, effectively utilize the channel of exchange through the Mongolia-China Expo, reduce non-tariff barriers in trade and accelerate the progress of China-funded projects.

The sides exchanged views on other matters such as regional and trilateral cooperation with Russia. They appreciated positive outlook of the Korean Peninsula and the activation of high-level dialogue between nations in the region, expressing willingness to put efforts into the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

According to the company’s managers, the 55 Mwh wind park will provide electricity for 100,000 households and offset carbon dioxide emissions for 200,000 tons of coal.

Officials from the Ministry of Energy visited the wind park and concluded that construction is being carried out as planned, without any delays.

Mongolia's renewable energy capacity is expected to be increased by 95 Mwh in 2018

Sanjaagiin Bayar, prime minister between 2007 and 2009, negotiated Rio Tinto's initial investment after it took over the mine from Canadian-listed developer Ivanhoe Mines. Saikhanbileg Chimed, who held office between 2014 and 2016, oversaw negotiations for the second, and more expensive, underground stage.

Both are now in custody, according to a statement on Wednesday from Mongolia’s anti-corruption authority, which last week requested that Mr Saikhanbileg return from the US to respond to questions.

Neither man could be immediately reached for comment.

The development of the enormous mine has been accompanied by years of fraught negotiations between Mongolia and Rio, including Ulan Bator's rapidly changing policies on foreign mining investment and allegations of cost overruns against the global miner.

Mongolia needs the proceeds from the mine to meet its national budget, but won't see the bulk of the revenue flow until Rio is compensated for its expenses and financing costs. Rio is financing the Mongolian state’s share of the investment in the mine at commercial rates, adding to the tension.

The mine has also exposed divisions within Mongolia between those who wanted the state to take a direct share and those who argued that the state should limit itself to collecting taxes. The promise of windfall proceeds inspired political parties to make rash spending commitments, adding to Mongolia's fiscal woes during a prolonged commodities downturn.

The arrests in Mongolia come as Rio Tinto faces investigations into payments made to a French consultant to secure a large iron ore mine in Guinea.

The Senior Country Economist of ADB Declan Magee said “We are optimistic about Mongolia’s economic growth in 2018. In 2018, the economic growth will slightly slow down compared to 3.8 percent growth in 2017, which is a good indicator. The mining investments are the main factor of the growth. However, the risk factor for the growth is coal export, especially the transportation problems. The economic growth is expected to be intensified, going up to 4.3 percent in 2019.”

Inflation rate in Mongolia is forecast to be 8 percent in 2018 and 7 percent in 2019. The budget deficit is expected to reach 6.4 percent of GDP in 2018 and 5.1 percent in 2019. The main reason for this would be increase in expenditures and predicted decrease in revenue due to tax reforms.

Country Director of the ADB for Mongolia Yolanda Fernandez Lommen introduced the Outlook on the economy of Asian countries. She noted the opportunities to expand economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. The regional economic growth was 6.1 percent in 2017 and is expected to be 6 percent in 2018 and 5.9 in 2019.

Moreover, she emphasized that the regional inflation rate is expected to be 2.9 in 2018, reason for which is the commodity price rises and consumer demand on the international markets.

B.Misheel

Mongolian and Chinese companies will be doing business in environment, mining, water supply, ger area re-planning, commerce, hotel, construction, meat and meat processing plant, railway, energy, banking and finance and tourism industries. For instance, Bodi International LLC signed a USD 450 million agreement on the Buuruljuut Thermal Power Plant project with the China State Construction Engineering company.

Mongolia-China trade volume reached USD 6.7 billion in 2017, which is 36 percent higher than that of 2016 and constitutes 63 percent of Mongolia’s foreign trade. Mongolia and China aim to see USD 10 billion trade turnover by 2020.
Kh.Aminaa

Mongolia will host the 2018 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on July 3-6.

The Mongolian Prime Minister, who is paying an official visit to China, met the UN Secretary-General on April 10 on the sidelines of the Boao Forum being held on April 8-11.

While congratulating Mr. Guterres on his appointment again, the Prime Minister expressed Mongolia’s commitment to maintaining international peace and security and advancing sustainable development as a member of the UN. The Prime Minister reported on the progress of preparations for the July conference.

The Secretary-General appreciated Mongolia’s role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda – 2030 while successfully advancing its democracy and contribution to regional peace and security.

The Secretary-General also recalled his meeting with Mongolian peacekeepers serving in conflict zones and commended their professionalism and dedication.

Mr. Guterres expressed the UN’s readiness to assist Mongolia in its social and economic development and multilateral diplomacy, wishing success in the large-scale projects that Mongolia is running with its neighbor countries.
Kh.Aminaa

They are improsened at the 461s detention center. Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) consider Ch.Saikhanbileg and S.Bayar suspects of an alleged bribery case related to Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement.

In his speech, the PM said that Mongolia is one of initiators of this forum, which is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals.

Mentioning that Mongolia has been attending the forum many times in state and government level, the PM underlined that the Boao Forum is important platform to expand regional trade and economic cooperation and seek possibilities to resolve pressing issues together.

“China’s initiative ‘The Belt and Road’ is possible to play a vital role to accelerate economic development and satisfy regional and global peace and stability by means of intensifying regional countries’ cooperation in infrastructure, trade, investment and finance and inter-citizen exchanges. For this reason, Mongolia supports this initiative from the beginning and implements its own initiative ‘Development Road’ in harmonization with ‘The Belt and Road’ and is actively working to create ‘Mongolia-Russia-China economic corridor’,” he said.

In addition, the PM emphasized, “Mongolia maintains its policy to develop mutual beneficial economic cooperation and take active part in regional political and economic processes. Mongolia is interested in developing a broad-range of cooperation with its neighbors and regional countries.”

Highlighting Mongolia’s reviving economy and improving investment and business environment, the Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh pointed out that the government aims at developing agriculture, food, light industry and tourism to diversify economy.

M.Unurzul

South Korea has been struggling to deal with fine dust particles from both home and coming in from China, as well as yellow dust from Mongolia during the winter and spring seasons.

A total of 42 fine dust warnings and advisories have been issued for Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul city, this year, according to official data.

The total breaks down to 17 PM10 advisories, two PM10 warnings and 23 PM2.5 advisories, Yonhap reports.

The total is up from 36 warnings and advisories issued for the same period last year.

PM10 is fine dust of 2.5 to 10 micrometers in diameter, while PM2.5 is 2.5 micrometers smaller in diameter and can only be seen with an electron microscope.

A fine dust warning is issued when the level reaches over 300 micrograms per cubic meter (?/?), while an advisory is put in place when the level is over 150 ?/?.

Fine dust -- particles smaller than 10 micrometers -- can cause respiratory ailments and undermine the body's immune system.

The levels of fine dust and the duration of the warnings and advisories also grew this year from a year earlier due apparently to the increasing amount of fine and yellow dust from China.

The average dust concentration level was 149 parts per million in 2018, up from 132.8 ppm last year, while the duration was 19.8 hours this year compared with 16.3 hours in 2017.

"We assume the fine dust from China stays longer on the Korean Peninsula due to the wind moving slowly," a Gyeonggi provincial government official said.