Mongolia recently experienced torrential rain and flash flooding, which resulted in a devastating impact on its decades-old infrastructures. Thousands of homes were destroyed, tens of thousands of people were displaced and several were killed. Despite the quick response and relentless efforts of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the flooding highlighted Ulaanbaatar’s serious need to ameliorate its urban planning.

Between July 3 and August 5, Ulaanbaatar experienced intermittent heavy rain and flash floods, resulting in four deaths, including a 10-month-old baby. An estimated 31,600 families (some 128,000 people) were directly affected by the flooding. The International Federation of Red Cross based in Ulaanbaatar counted some 20,000 people displaced, and many are struggling to rebuild their lives.

According to OCHA, the U.N. arm responsible for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, “over 100 residential buildings and hundreds of traditional yurts and vehicles” flooded in Ulaanbaatar in July.

The international community is helping provide assistance. The Australian Embassy to Mongolia, the Red Cross, UNESCO, the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Center, major businesses, and others have donated to Mongolia’s relief efforts.

Australian Ambassador to Mongolia Katie Smith pledged, “As a steadfast friend and committed third neighbor, Australia will be providing AUD 250,000 in humanitarian assistance to Mongolia through the Mongolian Red Cross Society and UNFPA Mongolia to support the flood relief efforts.” The EU is to allocate 50,000 euros in assistance to the severely hit localities, which can help 11,000 people.

As residents and businesses recover from damages, Mongolian youths set up a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the individuals who passed away during the flooding. The mayor’s office donated apartments to the families of the deceased and provided 16 furnished apartments to families left homeless.

Many residents blamed the scale of the disaster on the Mongolia capital’s poor urban planning, as well as mismanagement of funds that should have been used to fix eroded roads, bridges, and flood zones. Ulaanbaatar residents, particularly in Bayanzurkh and Sukhbaatar districts, are demanding an overhaul of city’s urban planning.

As Ulaanbaatar’s population density continues to spiral – today, one-third of Mongolia’s total population lives in the capital – the old infrastructure systems simply cannot handle day-to-day use, let alone acute disasters such as floods.

A lack of effective urban planning contributes to Ulaanbaatar’s woes, whether flood management or air pollution. This is especially true in the low-income areas and communities in ger districts, which suffer from unfinished pavements, lack of street lighting, and lack of sewage systems.

Communities living in ger districts experience the worst of Ulaanbaatar’s air pollution and lack access to clean water. This leaves them vulnerable to diseases such as tuberculosis. The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease categorizes Mongolia as a “high-burden” country for tuberculosis, estimating the disease impacts “428 per 100,000 people.” Concerningly, an unusually high percentage of new cases are found in children – 11 percent in Mongolia, versus just 3 percent in the Western Pacific region as a whole.

Sanitation is also a major issue that urban planners and policymakers need to pay attention to. Lack of access to clean water and sewage hook-ups also contribute to disease.

Grassroots efforts are underway to spark change. Oyungerel Tsedendamba, a former parliamentarian and minister of culture, is active in promoting sanitation awareness and solutions to the decades-old problem. Organizations such as Clean Sanitation and Water for All are watchdogs for Mongolia’s sanitation and hygiene. In 2020, the organization estimated that for Mongolia to ensure 100 percent safely managed sanitation by 2030 – in both urban and rural areas – efforts need to be four times faster.

Ulaanbaatar is hit by a two-fold problem. First, there is the failure to repair existing infrastructure; second, there is a failure to provide infrastructure for new residents. This is especially problematic as Ulaanbaatar is expanding into areas that are prone to flooding.

Policy failures exacerbated the recent floods, and were also clearly visible in the government response. City workers disinfected the flood-affected streets, a necessary step to stem the spread of water-borne diseases, but claimed they were not responsible for disinfecting residential buildings and homes. As the city’s policymakers, the mayor’s office should provide both opportunities and tools for residents to disinfect. This also means that government funds need to be allocated towards flood relief tools, medical equipment, and disinfectants. Foreign governments and nonprofits are not responsible, nor are they required to assist, but thankfully they do.

Eight years ago, in 2015, Artessa Saldivar-Sali, a resilience engineering specialist at the World Bank, warned to the risk of devastating flood in Ulaanbaatar. She noted that more and more families were setting up homes on “hazardous mountain slopes and flood plains,” while the city’s drainage systems were not fit for purpose. Those trends have only continued in the past eight years.

As of 2015, “[m]ore than 200,000 people, 600 residential buildings, 31,000 gers (traditional portable dwellings used by nomads) and 109 schools, kindergartens, and medical units are located in medium to high flood hazard areas,” Saldivar-Sali wrote.

She added the flooding also risked damaging “critical infrastructures such as the high-voltage power station that sits in the middle of the Selbe river channel.” Unfortunately, the recent flood did damage the Selbe Dam. The collapse of the dam increased the flooding in Ulaanbaatar, impacting five central districts and flooding residential buildings. Social media posts illustrated the major frustration of foreigners living in central Ulaanbaatar.

Just after the flooding, on August 21, Mongolia hosted the Seventh Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum on Global Health, which consisted of representatives from around the Asia-Pacific region and the World Health Organization.

During the forum, the speaker of Mongolia’s parliament, Zandanshatar Gombojav, said that Mongolia was pursuing “health sector reforms, increasing the financing of care and services, reflecting health in policies of all sectors, and strengthening inter-sectoral collaboration as its’ core goal.” The forum discussed post-COVID relief and health, but did not devote enough attention to other critical subjects such as disaster preparedness, sanitation, and urban planning.

Moving forward, Ulaanbaatar cannot neglect the seriousness of its infrastructure mismanagement and poor urban planning, and the knock-on effects on public health. Currently, the government is making piecemeal attempts to shift things around, such as moving universities to different locations. However, the main issue lies in the need to modernize Ulaanbaatar’s infrastructure and prevent settlers from moving into flood-prone or otherwise hazardous locations.

BY Bolor Lkhaajav

Bolor Lkhaajav is a researcher specializing in Mongolia, China, Russia, Japan, East Asia, and the Americas. She holds an M.A. in Asia-Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco.

Mongolia’s heating system is based on domestically produced coal, which provides an economical option for the supply of heating for the population. However, coal heating has resulted in high local pollution in cities, causing respiratory-related health issues.also It also hinders Mongolia’s aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.

Mongolia, however, has significant potential for renewable energy sources – especially wind, solar and geothermal – which could be used to meets its heating needs. This detailed renewable energy-based strategic heating plan leverages the existing district heating network in the utilisation of locally available renewable heat sources as well as renewable electricity.

The assessment comprises a detailed mapping of the heat demand of buildings and an energy system analysis of district heat supply. Energy efficiency improvement in existing and new buildings, efficient and modern heat supply networks, and the integration of renewable heat and electricity play key roles in the proposed plan, which demonstrates that a renewable energy-based heating supply is more technologically and socio-economically feasible than the current fossil-fuel based system.

See the full report at https://www.irena.org/.../Renewable-Energy-Solutions-for...

The Ministry of Construction and Urban Development, and the Kolon Global Corporation LLC of the Republic of Korea signed a Contract on the Construction Works of Solongo Affordable Housing Complex 1 and Complex 2 Projects in Mongolia yesterday.

The Contract was signed by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development G. Magnaisuren and the Vice-President of the Kolon Global Corporation LLC Jo Hyun Chul. The construction of 5,002 flats on an area of 17.5 hectares in the territory of the 21st District of Ulaanbaatar, east of the Buyant-Ukhaa Airport, will commence upon signing of the Conract with a soft loan from the Government of South Korea.

The construction of the housing complexes will be financed by a 40-year term soft loan of USD 266.9 million with an annual interest rate of 0.15 percent from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of South Korea's Eximbank and completed within 40 months.

The Australian Government and the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) jointly organized the Asia Pacific Earthquake Response Exercise (APERE) in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, on August 21-25, 2023.

The Mongolian rescue team, led by Brigadier General B. Uuganbayar, Deputy Director of the National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia, participated in the biggest earthquake response exercise in the region, testing their preparedness to overcome a catastrophic earthquake.

The exercise created a mock scenario in which a severe earthquake caused significant loss of life and collapsed buildings. It involved over 300 emergency management personnel from more than 30 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The rescue team, alongside their frontline partners from Australia and other countries, responded to the exercise as if it was the “real deal” and exchanged knowledge and best practices for dealing with natural disasters.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Mongolia Fiona Blyth presented her Letter of Credence to the President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa on August 28, 2023. Mr. President congratulated the Ambassador on officially assuming her duty and wished her success.

Noting that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the United Kingdom, President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa stressed the importance of strengthening relations and cooperation between the two countries and facilitating high-level visits.

The newly appointed Ambassador Fiona Blyth expressed her readiness to actively work towards expanding relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Ms. Fiona Blythe has served as Principal Analyst in the UK Cabinet Office, Team Leader in the National Security Secretariat, Senior Policy Advisor in the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations in New York, and Senior Political Affairs Officer in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia.

Australia will provide AU$250,000 in humanitarian aid following the adverse humanitarian situation caused by severe floods in Mongolia.

Australia will send assistance through the Mongolian Red Cross Society and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Mongolia, which support those affected.

"Our thoughts are with people who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods as a result of the floods. Australia and Mongolia have a history of helping each other through difficult times. As a third neighbor and true friend, Australia is committed to supporting Mongolia's response," said Australian Ambassador to Mongolia Katie Smith.

The Mongolian Red Cross Society will continue distributing food and non-food items to displaced families, supporting the Emergency Committee and other authorities with damage and impact assessments, and providing psychosocial support and referral services. UNFPA will provide clothing kits that contain essential items to help women and girls maintain proper hygiene after displacement.

Fitch Ratings - Hong Kong/Tokyo - 28 Aug 2023: Fitch Ratings has placed Mongolian Mining Corporation's (MMC) 'B' Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and the rating on its US-dollar bond due April 2024 on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). At the same time, Fitch has assigned a 'B(EXP)' expected rating to MMC's proposed US-dollar senior exchange notes and new issuance with a Recovery Rating of 'RR4'. The final rating is contingent upon the receipt of final documents conforming to information already received.

The proposed notes will mature on the third anniversary of the exchange settlement date and will be jointly and severally issued by MMC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Energy Resources LLC.

We do not consider the proposed debt exchange transaction as default avoidance, despite the maturity extension for MMC's existing USD350 million senior secured notes due April 2024, as we believe MMC is able to accumulate sufficient cash to repay the notes, even without the proposed issuance.

The RWN takes into consideration the low cash buffer that will be available after the repayment of the notes due 2024, should the exchange offer fail, to manage variances in the operating environment. The inherent volatility and lack of predictability of the post repayment cash position is more consistent with a rating level that is one notch lower. We will remove the RWN and affirm the rating with a Stable Outlook if the exchange is completed at the terms communicated.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Exchange to Address Refinancing Risk: The exchange offer is at par value, using a combination of cash and new notes, subject to a minimum acceptance of 75% of outstanding principal. A successful transaction would reduce the funding requirements for MMC's 2024 notes and would be credit positive, as it would improve the company's maturity profile.

Sufficient Cash for Repayment: If the proposed exchange fails, we expect that MMC would have the capacity to repay its 2024 notes with cash generated from operations, taking into consideration our forecast of a lower average selling price (ASP) in 2H23 and 1Q24. The outstanding balance of MMC's 2024 notes was USD350 million at mid-August 2023. The company had a cash balance of over USD200 million at end-June 2023, up from USD65 million at end-2022.

We expect MMC could generate over USD250 million in EBITDA between June 2023 to 1Q24, which, after taking into consideration other cash flow uses, such as interest, taxes and capex, together with the USD50 million in an unused committed facility, would leave the company with sufficient cash for the bond repayment and continued operation.

Limited Cash Buffer Post Repayment: We expect MMC to have over USD350 million of cash available as of end 1Q24 without the exchange offer, with an additional USD50 million in an unutilised committed facility. We calculate that the company will have a cash buffer of around USD50 million after the USD350 million principal repayment after subtracting the minimum USD50 million of cash required to maintain its operation. However, the inherent variances of MMC's operating environment can result in the buffer varying widely, which is commensurate with a one-notch lower rating.

Robust Operational Improvements: MMC's coking-coal operation has normalised, with Covid-19 pandemic-related disruption at the border with China having eased in 1Q23. Average daily throughput rose to about 800 trucks in 1H23, surpassing pre-pandemic and the 1H22 level of around 240 trucks. MMC ramped up processing volume to 6.8 million tonnes in 1H23, from 0.9 million tonnes in 1H22, ahead of our expectations. Meanwhile, the realised ASP for hard coking coal exceeded USD160/tonne, from a 2022 average of USD147/tonne.

We expect the ASP to fall in 2H23, but for average ASP in 2023 to remain above 2022 levels. We also expect washed hard coking coal sales volume to reach 5.5 million tonnes, against our previous forecast of 5.0 million tonnes (2022: 3.5 million tonnes). As a result, the EBITDA margin should improve to over 40%, from around 24% in 2022, with greater free cash flow from the higher volume, stronger pricing assumptions and lower costs. We also forecast net leverage to drop to below 1.0x (2022: 3.0x), supported by a strong ASP and margin expansion.

Small Scale, Single Product: MMC is small by revenue compared with Fitch-rated coal miners globally. Washed hard coking coal accounted for over 95% of its total revenue in 2022. Its latest coal reserve statements show total marketable coal reserves of just under 400 million tonnes, or a reserve life of around 35 years. MMC's small scale and product concentration constrain its business profile to the 'b' category. MMC is looking to diversify away from coking coal, but we believe it will remain its dominant revenue contributor in the short to medium term.

Regional Cost Advantage: MMC's cash costs, including royalties, are in the second quartile of the global coking-coal cost curve, but its cost advantage is only in the northern part of China due to the proximity of its mines to steel mills in the area. Land transportation costs to Chinese customers averaged at about USD13/tonne in 1H23, limiting MMC's cost competitiveness and putting it in the higher quartile of the global cost curve. Delivery beyond northern China would raise costs, limiting its customer-base to mainly northern China.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

The RWN reflects the narrow buffer provided by MMC's Fitch-estimated cash balance after the principal repayment on the 2024 notes, which may not protect MMC from volatile market conditions should the exchange offer not proceed. MMC has a smaller revenue scale compared with rated peers, such as Guangyang Antai Holdings Limited (B/Stable), PT Indika Energy Tbk (BB-/Stable) and PT Golden Energy Mines Tbk (GEMS, BB-/Stable).

Guangyang Antai's revenue is more than 10x times that of MMC, while Indika's revenue scale is more than 7x larger and GEMS' 5x. However, MMC margin is much higher than that of Guangyang Antai and similar to that of Indika and GEM. MMC is a single-product coal miner, similar to the peers. Its operational profile in terms of mine life is similar to that of GEMS, whose mine life is over 25 years. Indika's mine life is shorter, at around 15 years.

MMC's leverage and financial flexibility profile is weaker than that of GEMS. GEMS has more stable free cash flow generation ability, much lower leverage and well-distributed amortising debt. Both MMC and Indika have had choppy free cash flow generation in the past few years and concentrated debt maturities. Nevertheless, Indika has better interest coverage and much lower leverage. We expect lower leverage at MMC compared with Guangyang Antai, but both companies have had weak FCF generation in the past few years.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions within our Rating Case for the Issuer:

- No exchange offer is considered

- Hard coking coal ASP of USD150/tonne in 2023 and over USD140/tonne in 2024, consistent with Fitch's price deck assumptions

- Total sales volume over 8.5 million tonnes in 2023, dropping to just under 7.0 million tonnes from 2024

- EBITDA margin to average at slightly below 40% in 2023-2025, supported by higher volume, a strong ASP and normalised costs

- Capex at average at around 10% of revenue in 2023-2025

- No dividend payments in 2023-2025

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive rating action/upgrade:

- We will remove the RWN and affirm the ratings with a Stable Outlook upon completion of the exchange offer at the terms communicated.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action/downgrade:

- Failure to complete the exchange offer or secure other means of funding to reduce refinancing risk by end-3Q23

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction) of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are based on historical performance. For more information about the methodology used to determine sector-specific best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/10111579.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: MMC had USD208 million of cash on hand and USD50 million in unutilised credit facilities at end June 2023. However, this is insufficient to repay the notes due in April 2024, which had a face value of USD350 million in mid-August 2023. Nevertheless, we expect that the company will be able to accumulate additional cash in 2H23 and 1Q24 to meet the principal repayment and retain a cash buffer to sustain its operation.

ISSUER PROFILE

MMC is the largest producer and exporter of high-quality hard coking coal in Mongolia. It owns and operates the Ukhaa Khudag and Baruun Naran open-pit coking coal mines in South Gobi province. MMC processed 6.6 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal in 2022, which yielded around 3.0 million tonnes of washed coking coal as a primary product and 1.2 million tonnes of washed thermal coal as a secondary product.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit http://www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products...

In his greetings following the recitation of the Angelus prayer on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about his upcoming Apostolic Journey to Mongolia, which will take place from 31 August to 4 September.

The motto of the journey, "Hoping Together," aims to underscore the double meaning of the Holy Father's Apostolic Journey to Mongolia: that of a pastoral visit and of a state visit.

The Pope described it as a "much-desired visit" and an opportunity "to embrace a Church small in numbers but vibrant in faith and great in charity."

The Holy Father recalled Mongolia's rich "religious tradition," which he "will have the honor of getting to know especially in the context of an interreligious event."

"A brother to all"

Pope Francis expressed his happiness "to be among" the Mongolian people "as a brother for all."

The Pope concluded by thanking the civil authorities of Mongolia for the invitation and those "who with great commitment are preparing for my arrival."

"I ask all of you to accompany this visit with your prayers," he said.

Pope Francis’ next international trip will bring him to Mongolia, a democracy sandwiched between the authoritarian powers of Russia and China.

When Pope Francis lands in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 1, he will become the first pope in the history of the Catholic Church to visit Mongolia, but the trip could have geopolitical implications beyond the country’s small population of just 1,450 Catholics.

Mongolia is a post-Soviet democracy that continues to have strong ties with its geographic neighbors China and Russia as well as an important diplomatic relationship with the United States, which Mongolia calls its “third neighbor.”

In Pope Francis’ first speech at Mongolia’s State Palace, the pope will address not only Mongolia’s democratic leaders but also the local diplomatic corps, which includes embassy officials from Russia, China, and North Korea. This speech in particular presents an opportunity for the pope to send a message to Moscow and Beijing.

Russian state media has already signaled that it is paying close attention to the pope’s trip. The Kremlin-owned Tass news outlet even suggested the possibility of a papal plane layover in the Moscow airport as a “neutral” location for Pope Francis to meet Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.

During Mongolia’s era of one-party Communist rule in the 20th century, its political and economic ties with the Soviet Union were very strong, and Russia continues to be an essential energy supplier for the Asian country.

The Soviets gave Mongolia’s capital its current name, Ulaanbaatar, meaning “Red Hero” in Russian, in 1924 in honor of communism. The Mongolian language has used a Cyrillic-based alphabet similar to Russian since the 1940s, although the government has announced plans to revert to the country’s traditional vertical script by 2025.

Today Mongolia imports 90% of its oil products from Russia and has abstained from U.N. votes that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has come up in many of the pope’s speeches during his international trips in the past year, including in a speech to government leaders in post-Soviet Kazakhstan, where the pope called for an end to the “senseless and tragic war” in Ukraine.

Due to its unique role as a Eurasian democracy, Mongolia has been put forward as a site for potential peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Pope Francis’ travel to Mongolia comes amid a Vatican peace mission led by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who has made diplomatic visits to Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington, and was also asked by the pope to continue the Vatican’s “peace offensive” in Beijing.

China

Mongolia shares a nearly 3,000-mile border with China, which is also Mongolia’s most significant economic partner. Historically, the Mongols conquered all of China during the 13th century and later Mongolia was a part of China’s Qing dynasty for more than two centuries, so one could argue that this is the closest the Catholic Church has ever come to a papal trip to China.

Chinese Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow of Hong Kong has said that he will travel to Mongolia for the pope’s trip with a delegation of about 30 Hong Kong Catholics. Earlier this year, Chow became the first Hong Kong bishop to make an official visit to Beijing in nearly 30 years.

While Pope Francis is in Mongolia, the Chinese Communist Party will implement new religious restrictions, titled “Regulations on the Management of Religious Activity Sites,” which come into force on Sept. 1. The restrictions ban the display of religious symbols outdoors, require preaching to “reflect core socialist values” and limit all religious activities to government-approved religious venues, according to China Aid.

The Chinese religious freedom restrictions will affect Christians and Buddhists alike, including in the regions of Tibet and Inner Mongolia, which could be a potential talking point for the Buddhist-Catholic interreligious dimension of Pope Francis’ Mongolia trip. The pope, who has previously received a delegation of Mongolian Buddhist leaders at the Vatican, is scheduled to take part in an interreligious meeting in Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 3.

Vatican-China relations have had a rocky year. Last month, the Vatican announced Pope Francis’ decision to approve the appointment of the bishop of Shanghai who was previously installed by Chinese authorities without the Holy See’s approval. It was the second unauthorized appointment by Beijing since November 2022.

China currently dominates Mongolia’s trade, with Mongolia sending 86% of its exports to China. Coal accounts for the majority of China’s imports from Mongolia. During the Mongolian prime minister’s six-day trip to China this summer, the prime minister spoke about taking China-Mongolian relations “to new heights” and signed a contract for the construction of a $1.8 billion railway connection to further expand trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, a boost to China’s future Mongolian coal imports.

Notably, Mongolia also agreed to deepen cooperation to mine rare earth metals with its “third neighbor,” the United States, during an official state visit by the prime minister to Washington earlier this month. The U.S. also signed an “Open Skies” agreement with Mongolia, paving the way for Mongolian Airlines to fly to the United States for the first time.

Pope Francis is set to travel to outer Mongolia over the upcoming Labor Day weekend. During the four-day trip, the pope is scheduled to meet with government leaders, engage in interreligious dialogue, and offer Mass for the country’s small Catholic population.

BY Courtney Mares

Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Sunday described his visit later this week to Mongolia, the first-ever pilgrimage by a pontiff to the east Asian country, as a much-desired occasion to encounter a “noble, wise” people.

Speaking to the public in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said the trip would also be an opportunity to embrace the Catholic community there, describing the church in Mongolia as “small in numbers but lively in faith and great in charity.” The pilgrimage is also an opportunity "to meet up close with a noble, wise people,'' he said.

Francis departs on Thursday, returning to Rome four days later. There are fewer than 1,500 Catholics in Mongolia, where some 3.2 million people live in one of the world’s least densely populated countries.

The pope said Mongolia has a great religious tradition that “I will have the honor to know,” especially in the context of an inter-religious event during the trip on Sept. 3.

The largest percentage of Mongolia's people are Buddhist.

In his remarks, Francis said he wanted to address “you, brothers and sisters of Mongolia, telling you that I am happy to travel to be among you as a brother of all."

He also asked the faithful in the square to accompany him in prayer during his trip.