The Nord Stream 2 project announced Wednesday that it received a construction and operation permit from a northern German regional mining authority for a 55-km section of the gas 1,200-km pipeline off the Baltic Sea coast.

“This key decision opens the possibility of starting construction of the new Nord Stream-2 offshore gas pipeline’s most important section in German territorial waters,” Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller was cited as saying by Interfax on Wednesday.

The Stralsund Mining Authority issued the permit less than a week after top diplomats from the United States and Poland expressed strong opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

“We see it as undermining Europe’s overall energy security and stability and providing Russia yet another tool to politicize energy as a political tool,” U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson said at the time.

In the second half of the year, the new airway will be open. To develop the tourism sectors of both countries, the Chinese asked Mongolia to increase the frequency of the Ulaanbaatar-Beijing-Ulaanbaatar flights, and to take action to support a proposal on codeshare between the Mongolian state enterprise MIAT and the Chinese state-owned "Air China". They also requested the Ulaanbaatar-Ulan Ude flights operated by “Hunnu Air” LLC to be extended to Ulaanbaatar-Ulan-Ude-Manzhouli-Ulan-Ude.

MIAT are planning flights to Chengdu and Guangzhou, China. The Minister of Road and Transport Development J.Bat-Erdene emphasized that this is a big step forward expanding tourism, investment and business sectors.

During the Ministers' meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Mongolian Maritime Administration and the Chinese Ocean Administration to cooperate in sharing experiences and training staff and other spheres. As a result, our two countries will cooperate in all areas of transportation sector.

The issues agreed during the visit will be concluded during an expecting visit of Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh to People’s Republic of China.

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During the visit, D.Tsogtbaatar will meet Kim Yong-nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea and Ri Su-yong, director of the Foreign Affairs Committee as well as hold talks with Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho.

Mongolia and North Korea are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. The last time, a Mongolian foreign minister visited Pyongyang was in 2010; the North Korean foreign minister last visited Ulaanbaatar in 2015.

On the first day of his visit, Mr Bat-Erdene Jadamba met with Mr Li Xiaopeng to discuss Mongolia- Russia-China railroad corridor and bilateral cooperation on auto road and air transport.

Chinese Minister Li Xiaopeng remarked “The two countries have been developing cooperation in all sectors, especially focusing on transport sector since the joint declaration of developing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2014.” He then expressed that the Agreement on International Road Transport, which was established between the Governments of Mongolia and China in 2011, is not complying with the current situations; thus, a joint working group needs to be established in order to study the necessary amendments to the agreement.

Minister of Road and Transport Development of Mongolia Bat- Erdene Jadamba expressed Mongolia’s interest in studying China’s practices in the road and transport spheres. Accordingly, Mr Bat-Erdene Jadamba asked China’s support in the following works:
Establishment of highway in Tianjin- Ulaan Uud route auto road; Expansion of railway network and workforces between the two countries;
Expansion of transit transportation in the western, eastern and northern route railways;
He then highlighted the current situations at Nariin Sukhait-Shivee Khuren and Tavan Tolgoi-Gashuunsukhait roads, and emphasized, “Tavan Tolgoi-Gashuunsukhait route auto road has a significant impact on Mongolia’s economy. Therefore, it is important to promptly settle the issue at the border checkpoint.”

Accordingly, Mr Bat-Erdene Jadamba asked to increase access and establish railroad between Zunbayan and Khangi Mandal. He added, “If these areas are connected by railroads, the transportation length of iron ore from Mongolia to a metallurgical plant in Bugat city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China will reduce by 400 km and will reduce load at Zamiin Uud-Ereen border checkpoint.”

As for air transport, Mr Bat- Erdene Jadamba requested China to increase flight frequency and delays in the Ulaanbaatar-Beijing route, expand flight routes of Hunnu Air LLC and establish Ulaanbaatar- Ulaan-Uud-Manchuria flight route. He emphasized that the route will develop cooperation and tourism between the three countries. Chinese minister informed that a joint working group’s research is important for the above-mentioned issues and expressed his willingness in cooperating with Mongolia after studying the situation.

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The state-run carrier has relied heavily on Airbus and Boeing jets, but the Kremlin has encouraged local carriers to introduce homemade aircraft, like the MC-21.

The first 25 MC-21s delivered to Aeroflot will be equipped with American Pratt & Whitney PW1400G engines. It is possible that the remaining planes will be equipped with Russian-made PD-14 engines, which are to be certified later this year.

The maiden flight of the Russian jet took place in May 2017. It can carry a maximum of 211 passengers, and seeks to compete with medium-haul jetliners such as the Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320neo and Chinese Comac C919.

The main competitive advantages of the MC-21 include modest operating costs, which are 6-7 percent lower than its competitors. The jet will replace the remaining Soviet-era Yakovlev Yak-42, Tupolev Tu-134, Tupolev Tu-154, and Tupolev Tu-204/214 airliners.

The MC-21 features a composite wing-design, which improves fuel efficiency. The aircraft is also designed to have a cruising speed that is superior to its Boeing and Airbus alternatives, and its price is tens of millions of dollars lower than its competitors.

According to the Index, Mongolia rose four positions for overall rule of law performance (from 55 in the 2016 WJP Rule of Law Index) to 51 out of 113 countries in the 2017-2018 edition. Its score places it at 7 out of 15 countries in the East Asia and Pacific region and 4 out of 30 among lower-middle income countries.

Featuring primary data, the WJP Rule of Law Index measures countries’ rule of law performance across eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice.

The WJP Rule of Law Index® is the world’s leading source for original data on the rule of law. The Index relies on more than 110,000 household and 3,000 expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations by the general public worldwide.

Rio Tinto Group, 66 percent stakeholder of Oyu Tolgoi JSC, previously announced to invest USD 5 billion for the development. Over 80 percent of Oyu Tolgoi’s total value lies deep underground and the extraction cost is estimated to be around MNT 12 trillion. The company expects that 60 percent of total investment of the underground development will be financed this year. Furthermore, Oyu Tolgoi JSC plans to employ around 14 thousand workforce, which displays the intensity of the second phase development. The company recently announced that the sinking of Shaft 2 is expected soon and fit out will progress throughout 2018. Also, the sinking of Shaft 5, which progressed during the fourth quarter of 2017, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year. Armando Torres, CEO of Oyu Tolgoi JSC, announced to increase domestic companies’ involvement in the underground development project.

The company will be able to operate 24/7 on two shifts once the underground mine complex, which is using block-caving mining techniques, starts operation. The deepest shaft is the equivalent of 12 Blue Sky Towers in depth and is expected to progress throughout the year.

The block caving method of mining uses the force of gravity to extract ore from an underground deposit. A series of lateral tunnels are developed under the deposit with an undercut level and extraction level. The ore is undercut creating a void which allows the rock above to fall under its own weight into draw bells. Loaders on the extraction level then remove the fallen rock from the draw points, allowing more rock to feed into the draw bell and as the void created by the initial undercut propagates up through the deposit.

In addition, the company is planning to build around 10 km long conveyor, 3 maintenance shops, 2 drilling machine shops and a shotcrete station, as well as to drill 200 km long tunnels. Around 1000 subcontractor and suppliers can be involved in the underground development. Gold and copper contents in the concentrate is estimated to be tripled with the completion of the underground mine. The company is planning to start its operation by 2020 and reach full capacity by 2027. This will allow Oyu Tolgoi JSC to annually produce 500 thousand tons of copper. The company is currently producing around 175-200 thousand tons of copper annually.

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At the meeting, they exchanged views on possibilities to establish dry port and its significance. Mongolia joined the Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) in 2016 and it provided legal environment to establish international dry port and now it is important to take actions to realize, noted the federation representatives.

Establishment of an international dry port gives advantages to transport freight that carried via shipping to Mongolia free of charge, light-handed and at low cost and to tackle issues in transportion and logistics which play important role in export and import of Mongolia.

The representatives asked the Foreign Minister to render support on establishing related agreements with neighboring countries regartding to establishment of dry port. In turn, Minister D.Tsogtbaatar accepted the request and expressed to back operations of freight forwarders.

Present the meeting were authorities of Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Road and Transport Development.

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