1 ZANDANSHATAR GOMBOJAV APPOINTED AS PRIME MINISTER OF MONGOLIA WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/06/13      2 WHAT MONGOLIA’S NEW PRIME MINISTER MEANS FOR ITS DEMOCRACY WWW.TIME.COM PUBLISHED:2025/06/13      3 ULAANBAATAR DIALOGUE SHOWS MONGOLIA’S FOREIGN POLICY CONTINUITY AMID POLITICAL UNREST WWW.THEDIPLOMAT.COM PUBLISHED:2025/06/13      4 THE UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF) IN MONGOLIA, THE NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR SUPPORTING THE BILLION TREES MOVEMENT, AND CREDITECH STM NBFI LLC HAVE JOINTLY LAUNCHED THE “ONE CHILD – ONE TREE” INITIATIVE WWW.BILLIONTREE.MN PUBLISHED:2025/06/13      5 NEW MONGOLIAN PM TAKES OFFICE AFTER CORRUPTION PROTESTS WWW.AFP.MN PUBLISHED:2025/06/13      6 GOLD, MINED BY ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINERS OF MONGOLIA TO BE SUPPLIED TO INTERNATIONAL JEWELRY COMPANIES WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/06/13      7 AUSTRIA PUBLISHES SYNTHESIZED TEXTS OF TAX TREATIES WITH ICELAND, KAZAKHSTAN AND MONGOLIA AS IMPACTED BY BEPS MLI WWW.ORBITAX.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/06/13      8 THE UNITED STATES AND MONGOLIA OPEN THE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN ULAANBAATAR WWW.MN.USEMBASSY.GOV  PUBLISHED:2025/06/12      9 MONGOLIA'S 'DRAGON PRINCE' DINOSAUR WAS FORERUNNER OF T. REX WWW.REUTERS.COM PUBLISHED:2025/06/12      10 MONGOLIA’S PIVOT TO CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS: STRATEGIC REALIGNMENTS AND REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS WWW.CACIANALYST.ORG  PUBLISHED:2025/06/12      БӨӨРӨЛЖҮҮТИЙН ЦАХИЛГААН СТАНЦЫН II БЛОКИЙГ 12 ДУГААР САРД АШИГЛАЛТАД ОРУУЛНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/15     ОРОН СУУЦНЫ ҮНЭ 14.3 ХУВИАР ӨСЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/15     МОНГОЛ УЛСЫН 34 ДЭХ ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙДААР Г.ЗАНДАНШАТАРЫГ ТОМИЛЛОО WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/13     SXCOAL: МОНГОЛЫН НҮҮРСНИЙ ЭКСПОРТ ЗАХ ЗЭЭЛИЙН ХҮНДРЭЛИЙН СҮҮДЭРТ ХУМИГДАЖ БАЙНА WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/13     МОНГОЛ БАНК: ТЭТГЭВРИЙН ЗЭЭЛД ТАВИХ ӨР ОРЛОГЫН ХАРЬЦААГ 50:50 БОЛГОЛОО WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/13     МОНГОЛ ДАХЬ НҮБ-ЫН ХҮҮХДИЙН САН, ТЭРБУМ МОД ҮНДЭСНИЙ ХӨДӨЛГӨӨНИЙГ ДЭМЖИХ САН, КРЕДИТЕХ СТМ ББСБ ХХК “ХҮҮХЭД БҮРД – НЭГ МОД” САНААЧИЛГЫГ ХАМТРАН ХЭРЭГЖҮҮЛНЭ WWW.BILLIONTREE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/13     ЕРӨНХИЙЛӨГЧИЙН ТАМГЫН ГАЗРЫН ДАРГААР А.ҮЙЛСТӨГӨЛДӨР АЖИЛЛАНА WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/13     34 ДЭХ ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙД Г.ЗАНДАНШАТАР ХЭРХЭН АЖИЛЛАНА ГЭЖ АМЛАВ? WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/13     “АНГЛИ ХЭЛНИЙ МЭРГЭШЛИЙН ТӨВ”-ИЙГ МУИС-Д НЭЭЛЭЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/13     Г.ЗАНДАНШАТАР БАЯЛГИЙН САНГИЙН БОДЛОГЫГ ҮРГЭЛЖЛҮҮЛНЭ ГЭЖ АМЛАЛАА WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/06/12    

Category

Events

Events

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MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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China June coal output rebounds from six-month low as heatwave boosts demand www.reuters.com

BEIJING/SINGAPORE, July 17 (Reuters) - China's average daily coal production rebounded in June from a six-month low the prior month, official data showed on Monday, as miners ramped up output to meet increasing demand from power generators amid a heatwave.
China churned out 390.1 million metric tons of coal last month, up 2.5% from a year earlier and 1.2% from May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.
Daily production in June was equivalent to 13 million metric tons, up from May's 12.43 million metric tons, which was the lowest level since October 2022.
Coal output during the first half of 2023 reached 2.3 billion metric tons, 4.4% higher than the same period last year.
Miners have been urged by the government since June to step up output to fill their supply contracts with utilities as rounds of blistering heatwaves have swept across large swathes of China since late June.
Daily coal consumption in eight coastal provinces in June surpassed the levels seen over the same period of the past four years, data compiled by the China Coal Transportation and Distribution (CCTD) showed.
Record temperatures continue to boost air conditioning demand, driving daily coal use at utilities last week to 2.4 million metric tons, highest by far this year, according to data provider Wind and the CCTD.
China's peak summer power demand typically starts in late June and lasts for two months.
China's National Climate Centre forecast that most of the country could see temperatures 1 to 2 degrees Celsius (1.8 to 3.6 Fahrenheit) higher than normal this month and next, while precipitation could be 10% to 20% lower than average.
That suggests stronger power demand but possibly lower output from hydropower stations.
Hampering efforts to lift coal production, however, China's mining safety watchdog tightened inspections in late June, after deadly accidents were disclosed at an iron ore mine in Shanxi and at a coal mine in Liaoning provinces.
Chinese mines are known to be among the deadliest in the world and the country has carried out several rounds of mining safety checks since late February following an accident in Inner Mongolia that killed dozens of people.
The average operations rate at major coal mines in the hubs of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia fell to 82% in June from 84% in May, data compiled by the CCTD showed.
But coal output is expected to increase further as some miners in Inner Mongolia could be allowed to restart this month after being shut down since March to improve mining safety.
Reporting by Muyu Xu in Singapore and Dominique Patton in Beijing; Editing by Kim Coghill, Janane Venkatraman and Tom Hogue
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A Milestone of Friendship: Mongolia, Finland Commemorate 60 Years of Diplomatic Relations www.bnn.network

As Mongolia and Finland celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations, the significance of Finland’s pioneering role cannot be understated. Finland stands proud as the first Nordic country to forge official ties with Mongolia, laying the foundation for a friendship that has endured the test of time. This milestone marks a crucial moment in history when two nations recognized the importance of engaging in open dialogue and cooperation, setting the stage for fruitful diplomatic endeavors over the years.
A Long-Standing Connection: Celebrating Six Decades of Collaboration
The commemoration of 60 years of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Finland is a testament to the enduring connection between the two nations. Over the past six decades, Mongolia and Finland have worked hand in hand to foster strong cultural, economic, and social ties. The journey of collaboration has seen the exchange of knowledge, expertise, and experiences, enriching the lives of citizens from both countries. This celebration is not only a reflection of the past but also an opportunity to look forward to a future of even deeper cooperation.
Strengthening Ties: Mongolia and Finland’s Shared Commitment to Cooperation
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia pledges to enhance bilateral cooperation with Finland, the emphasis on shared values comes to the forefront. Both nations recognize the importance of collaboration based on mutual respect, understanding, and trust. Strengthening ties means embracing opportunities to work together in areas of mutual interest, whether it be in trade, education, environmental conservation, or other fields. Mongolia and Finland stand united in their commitment to building a stronger diplomatic alliance that will benefit their citizens and contribute to global progress.
BY:
Mamoon Alvi serves as an integral part of our global newsroom team. With a strong background in international news from his time at both BOL TV and Dharti TV, he came on board at BNN well-prepared to contribute. Mamoon's unwavering dedication to journalism drives him to relentlessly pursue the truth and deliver crucial stories to audiences around the world.
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Canadian Solar to Expand via USD2.5 Billion Plant in Inner Mongolia www.yicaiglobal.com

Canadian Solar, the world's fifth-biggest photovoltaic module supplier that just completed its secondary listing in Shanghai last month, intends to initially invest CNY18 billion (USD2.5 billion) to build a factory in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to stay relevant.
The company has penned an agreement with the municipal government of Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia, to construct a large-scale production base for various types of products to strengthen its industrial leadership, the Ontario-based firm’s Chinese listed arm said in a statement yesterday. The first phase of the project will cost CNY18 billion.
Canadian Solar, which used to focus more on downstream products such as cells and modules, is aiming to increase its production capacity across the industry chain. Its year-end capacity target is 20.4 gigawatts of silicon rods, 35 GW of wafers, and 50 GW of cells and modules, according to a plan released earlier.
The situation that PV companies are trapped in forces them to choose between two options: "expand or die," industry insiders told Yicai Global. Suppliers need to either keep expanding their capacity to keep up with the latest technologies or risk being left behind by rivals.
After the first phase is ready, Canadian Solar's new plant can make 30 GW of monocrystalline silicon rods per year, as well as 10 GW of monocrystalline wafers, 5 GW of PV modules, and 80 GW of crucibles, a key consumable used in making PV wafers, plus other ancillary products.
The workshop to produce silicon rods is scheduled to begin construction this month and start operation in March 2024. The remaining facilities are slated to kick off construction in September and reach the planned capacity a year after that. The company also plans to invest in phases two and three of the project to further expand its capacity, but the final decision will be made based on the initial performance of the first phase and market conditions.
Shares of Canadian Solar [SHA: 688472], trading on the Star Market, closed down 1.3 percent at CNY16.15 (USD2.30) The firm's Nasdaq-listed equity [NASDAQ: CSIQ] was 0.9 percent up in after-hours following a 3.4 percent decline on July 14.
Editor: Emmi Laine
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India, Mongolia joint military exercise to be held in Ulaanbaatar from July 17- July 31 www.thehindu.com

Indian and Mongolian troops will take part in the 15th edition of a bilateral military exercise in Ulaanbaatar from July 17 to July 31 aimed at exchanging best practices and developing interoperability, the Ministry of Defence said on July 16.
An Indian Army contingent comprising 43 personnel reached Ulaanbaatar on Sunday on an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft to take part in the exercise, 'Nomadic Elephant-23', the Ministry said in a statement.
"The aim of this exercise is to build positive military relations, exchange best practices, and develop inter-operability, bonhomie, camaraderie and friendship between the two Armies. The primary theme of the exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate," the statement said.
'Nomadic Elephant' is an annual training exercise which is conducted alternatively in Mongolia and India. The last edition of the exercise was held at the Special Forces Training School, Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh in October 2019.
Soldiers of the Mongolian Armed Forces Unit 084 and the Indian Army's Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment will participate in the exercise, the ministry said.
The scope of this exercise involves platoon-level Field Training Exercise (FTX). During the exercise, Indian and Mongolian troops will engage in various training activities designed to enhance their skills and capabilities, it said.
These activities include endurance training, reflex firing, room intervention, small team tactics and rock craft training. Soldiers from both sides will learn from each other's operational experience, it added.
India and Mongolia have a shared commitment to regional security and cooperation. 'Nomadic Elephant-23' will be yet another significant milestone in the defence cooperation between the armies of India and Mongolia that will further foster bilateral relations between the two nations, according to the statement.
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KT to cooperate with Mongolian gov't on DX techs www.kedglobal.com

South Korea's telecom service provider KT Corp. disclosed on Monday its plans to collaborate with the Mongolian government to usher in a digital transformation (DX) aimed at nurturing the country's key growth sectors and refining its e-government services.
A final report meeting concerning Mongolia's DX consulting was recently conducted at the Mongolian parliament in Ulaanbaatar, with high-ranking officials from the Mongolian Ministry of Digital Development and Communications in attendance.
The partnership between KT and the Mongolian government will focus on enhancing the digital government's supervisory role, cultivating national growth sectors through DX in the tourism and agriculture fields, refining e-government services, and introducing intelligent traffic control.
Presently, the Mongolian government is striving to diversify its industries to restructure an economy heavily reliant on mining. It rolled out the Digital Nation plan last year to foster new growth drivers via national DX and to extend its application to various industries.
The creation of the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications is a testament to the government's commitment to realizing this plan.
Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com
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Mongol-Tibet Cultural and Religious Symposium Held at University of Tokyo www.tibet.net

Tokyo: The second Mongol-Tibet Cultural and Religious Symposium was held at the University of Tokyo, Komaba campus on 15 July 2023. The Southern Mongolian Congress organized the symposium with the Tibet House Japan as the co-organiser and the Taiwan New School for Democracy as a supporter. The symposium celebrates the 110th anniversary of the Tibeto-Mongol Treaty of Friendship and Alliance signed in 1913 between Tibet and Mongolia.
Mr Miura Kotaro, who moderated the symposium, welcomed the guests, scholars, and the audience and briefly explained the concept of the symposium, “The Symposium aims to explore and give due importance to the old historical, cultural, and religious relationship that Tibet and Mongolia enjoyed since ancient times by having scholars discuss and present research papers on the subject.” The symposium also urges the scholars to honour and look at the 1913 treaty between the two nations, debate its validity, and the potential to resolve the Tibeto-Mongol conflict with the Chinese communist regime.
Around 15 Mongolians, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Tibetan scholars spoke on the subject and presented papers on different aspects of the Tibeto-Mongol studies and their perspectives on the 1913 treaty.
President of the Southern Mongolia Congress, Mr Temselt Shobchuud, delivered the keynote address from the organisers’ side. Kalon Norzin Dolma delivered the opening remark from the Tibetan side as the chief guest.
Kalon Norzin Dolma thanked the organisers for this important symposium and spoke on the long historical and religious relationship that Tibet had with Mongolia and how the treaty of 1913 is still relevant to prove that Tibet and Mongolia had been independent countries around that time. She also thanked the University of Tokyo for their support in having the symposium on the University’s campus.
The symposium was divided into three sessions. The first session was on “Tibet Mongolia 1913 Treaty of Friendship Alliance and Its Significance”. A research scholar on Mongolia and China Dr. Miyawaki Junko; Prof. Jampa Samten from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi; and Ms Manting Huang of the Taiwan New School for Democracy spoke and presented their papers on the subject.
The second session of the symposium was on “Tibet and Mongolia’s Historical and Cultural Relationship and Its Significance”. A Mongol scholar Mr Baoyintu, Prof. Hirano Satoshi of the University of Tokyo, and Dr Arya Tsewang Gyalpo of the Tibet House Japan spoke and presented their papers on the topic.
In the third session, A Mongol scholar Mr Archa, Ms Phentok from the Tibet Policy Institute, and Mr Zeng Jian-Yuan of Taiwan’s New School for Democracy spoke and presented papers on “Current Situation in Mongolia and Tibet and Possibility of Solidarity of National Movement in the Future.”
Scholars’ talks and presentations were well received by the audience who participated in the questions and answers at the end of each session. Prof Ako Tomoko of the University of Tokyo gave the end speech expressing her satisfaction to have the scholars discuss and debate on this important topic in the history of Asia at the University campus.
The organisers plan to bring out the scholars’ papers in print form in Japanese, English, and Chinese language. Many expressed pleasure to see many scholars and the general public attending the symposium and taking an interest in this part of Asian history.
Kalon Norzin Dolma interacted with the scholars and congratulated them on their presentations and papers. Kalon will meet the Tibetans in Japan tomorrow at Tibet House Japan.
-Report filed by the Office of Tibet, Japan
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Prime Minister Meets Energy Sector Officials www.montsame.mn

Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene is holding his 18th "Morning Meeting" today with officials of the energy sector.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister of Energy B. Choijilsuren has given a brief information about winter preparations. As of today, the preparation for winter of the energy sector is at 54 percent.
The Prime Minister has presented his speech "New Revival Policy" and is listening to the opinions of the sector representatives. More than 30 representatives of the Government and private sector are participating in the meeting, and representatives of thermal power plants of 21 aimags and the private sector are partaking online.
 
 
 
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Mineral-rich Mongolia is steeling itself for democratic change www.theguardian.com

In December, amid sub-zero temperatures, thousands of Mongolians turned up in Sükhbaatar Square in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, to protest about rampant corruption, and for a moment the Asian democracy, sitting uneasily between China and Russia, looked as though it might crumble.
That this would have mattered to the west is shown by the number of European politicians who since have travelled to the capital, including not just Emmanuel Macron, the French president, but Polish president, Andrzej Duda, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, and her French counterpart, Catherine Colonna.
Mongolia, with a population of more than 3 million, is not strategically important, but is rich in coal, copper and critical minerals including uranium that France needs for its nuclear energy. Hundreds of international investors were in the capital at the weekend for an economic forum.
One serious blight holding the country back, and making it more dependent on its two big neighbours, is corruption, according to Nyambaatar Khishgee , the minister of justice, who has been tasked with cleaning up the country’s act.
Two scandals in particular – a four-year heist involving coal exports to China, and the abuse of cheap education loans by politicians and their associates – have led to deep discontent. Nyambaatar, part of a new, younger generation of politicians not raised in the shadow of the Soviet Union, does not try to hide the scale of the crisis: “Ever since Mongolia became a democracy 30 years ago, an insider group regarded state funds and state-owned enterprises as a licence for personal gain.”
Nyambaatar is unequivocal that everything has to change. “Those protests changed the social environment dramatically, and one thing we understood is that we need to change the relationship between business, politics and economics.
“I was deeply shocked personally, because what became apparent was that over the last 30 years, the insiders basically had access to all this data, funds, and information, and took advantage of it. The idea that these funds were available on an equal basis to everybody was simply not true.
“Our economy is relatively small, but the insiders gained an advantage by using their political influence to get privileged access to all the public funds, investment, land permits.
“The aim now is to draw a line under the past 30 years, and make sure that in the next three decades there is equal access built around transparency. Nearly 30% of Mongolians live below the poverty line.”
The scale of the reforms under way in the areas of whistleblower laws, increased data transparency, political funding and the reform of state-owned firms is daunting. By one estimate, the anti-corruption strategy has more than 400 indicators. But the justice minister also admits that Mongolia can have any kind of perfect anti-corruption strategy on paper. What is needed is a vibrant civil society to make sure such laws are enforced.
He concedes that the president, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, and his ruling Mongolian People’s party is meeting “huge resistance” from entrenched interests opposed to the reforms. There is also some cynicism that the party in power since 2016 is equipped to make the changes.
As part of the reforms, Mongolia is also changing the way its politicians are elected – moving to a mixed electoral system.
Nyambaatar says: “The old way of elections with 76 MPs was essentially money-driven elections. The idea is to have a parliament that represents the true diversity of people in Mongolia rather than a privileged few businessmen.” The reforms, including measures to attract more women MPs, should be in place in time for the next legislative elections next year. “We want a new parliament that is willing to drive this change. People who want to become MPs will have to make more of a choice and decide whether to become a politician, or to seek government contracts. They cannot do both,” he adds.
The hope also is that as a result of electoral reform, the opposition will have a voice in parliament, and not just in public squares.
Perhaps the best route to credibility is to track down the network of officials and politicians that defrauded the state over coal. In total, about 6.4 million tonnes of coal, worth $1.8bn, has not been registered by Mongolian customs since 2013 while being recorded by Chinese customs. Whistleblowers say corrupt customs officials registered coal-laden trucks as passenger vehicles.
The Justice Department is also using Interpol’s Red and Blue Notice system to locate suspects in a chase across the US, Malaysia, France and Australia. The former president, Battulga Khaltmaa, named as a suspect, headed for South Korea seven months ago, citing medical reasons.
Nyambaatar has faith that the public demand for change will be met. “Westerners have lived their whole lives in democracies. We have spent half of our lives caught in a totalitarian system and the second half our lives trying to live in a democratic society, and one of the lessons we learned is that in a democratic society, a change that is supported by the public always wins.”
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The nomadic ‘oasis of democracy’ with a mission to become the next South Korea www.smh.com.au

Mongolians will tell you they are agile. Which means they are not good at planning ahead.
Thousands of years of nomadic living have made the people of this arid landlocked country able to adapt fast when disaster strikes.
But it has left Mongolians struggling to keep up with longer-term global economic shifts that have centralised populations, money and power.
Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, Mongolia’s 43-year-old prime minister, is trying to change that. He is in the midst of instituting the broadest political reforms seen since the country split from the Soviet Union and became a democracy in 1990.
The government is overhauling its majoritarian system to mirror New Zealand’s parliament of proportional representation – even if it might cost Oyun-Erdene’s Mongolian People’s Party power at the next election.
It is also launching a corruption drive that will hit some of the country’s most prominent families, and weaning itself off its giant neighbours Russia and China.
“Mongolia does not have anything to hide,” Oyun-Erdene says in an interview in his office at the Government Palace in Ulaanbaatar.
“We have to make reforms.”
The Harvard graduate has the build of a wrestler. He is the first Mongolian leader not to have been educated in the Soviet Union and leads a country where 70 per cent of people are under 35.
Outside his office on Sunday, students surrounded a yurt while children rode around Ulaanbaatar’s main square on electric ponies to pumping drum and bass.
But for years Mongolia’s youth have been left behind by chronic dysfunction, 14 changes of government in the past two decades (lasting an average of nine months) and an over-reliance on the mining sector.
Then COVID-19 hit, China sealed its borders and Russia launched its war on Ukraine.
Oyun-Erdene decided it was time to move.
“I do believe that my tenure as the prime minister has been unique because of these two main issues,” he says.
“We had to find some advantages from this situation. For us, the most important thing for Mongolia is to make our economy independent.”
To do that, Oyun-Erdene has to convince foreign investors that this resource-rich but volatile young democracy is worth the risk. The system of government that saw two-party rule dominate decades of Mongolian politics is out.
Coalitions are in. So too are women, who for the first time in 2024 will have one seat for every male elected in the proportional representation section of parliament.
The prime minister will have power over the cabinet, with the president acting as the check and balance rather than the old-Soviet style horizontal model which saw factional rivals chuck out prime ministers as if it was Australia.
The theory is that the new model will force governments to build consensus and encourage long-term policies while limiting the instability that has dogged each administration since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“We lived instability. It created unclear, un-understandable environments,” says the house speaker and Mongolian political veteran Gombojav Zandanshatar.
“We are not just talking about creating a favourable environment. We are doing it. We are updating the legislation,” he says.
Zandanshatar believes Mongolia can be a model for other small nations struggling to emerge from their authoritarian past.
“Sandwiched between our two giant neighbours, we call it an oasis of democracy.”
Those neighbours have caused plenty of discomfort for Mongolia’s leaders. The country remains dependent on Russia for all of its energy and 90 per cent of its exports go to China on a single railway track.
Aware the situation is not sustainable, Oyun-Erdene is diversifying the economy into artificial intelligence, renewable energy and digital finance, targeting deals with “third neighbours” like Australia in the process.
English is now the nation’s second official language.
A fibre optic cable that supplies Mongolia’s internet has to run through both Russia and China, so the government is now in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide satellite internet access to one of the world’s least densely populated nations.
“War or COVID, or any challenge, will end one day,” says Zandanshatar.
“We can’t move to Australia, with our ships and camels. Russia and China will never move. So we are neighbours. Neighbours don’t choose each other.”
It is a geographic reality that has made for a delicate diplomatic dance for Oyun-Erdene.
He has been reluctant to officially criticise Russia’s government but in his strongest public comments on the war in Ukraine to date, he made clear the distinction between the Kremlin and the Russian people.
“We always stand for peace and against war,” he says.
“Most importantly, I do believe that we don’t have to hate the regular citizens and people of the Russian Federation.”
He points to figure skater Kamila Valieva, the Russian star who tested positive for doping at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The 17-year-old performed in Mongolia in January.
“We don’t have to hate Valieva for the actions of her government. The people and businessmen are not to be blamed for the situation,” he says.
Mongolia’s economy has been hit by the sanctions imposed on Russian banks and planes. Flights to Ulaanbaatar from Europe now have to go as far as Seoul to find a connection to the Mongolian capital.
“This is a major problem,” he says.
For now, Oyun-Erdene appears willing to take the hit. But he wants the international community to do more to take the pressure off smaller countries that have found themselves caught in the middle.
“I do believe that the United Nations has to increase its role in solving this issue,” he says.
“As a kid, I watched the situation in movies, but now it’s a reality happening next door.”
Still, there are those who believe Oyun-Erdene’s reforms don’t go far enough to address the woes in an economy where two-thirds of it remains government-backed.
“For the very first time we have set a more stable system,” opposition leader Gantumur Luvsannyam told the Mongolian Economic Forum on Sunday.
“But we should shrink the government. Out of $1 in mining we get 1 cent –the rest is expenditures of the state. I want the private sector to be bold, to be courageous, not bowing to the state.”
Mining worker Bayartnar Bayaraa says transformation will take time.
“Maybe 15 years, maybe 30 years,” he says, dressed in Prada sunglasses and a traditional Mongolian deel in front of a giant statue of Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who once ruled over the world’s largest land empire.
“It’s a long journey.”
“The only thing we don’t have is diamonds,” he says.
But in Ulaanbaatar’s main square, student Temulen Myagmar says there is also a lack of investment in education that is crippling the prospects of young people at home.
The 18-year-old has been forced overseas because of a lack of education opportunities, fuelled by the economic division between urban elites in the city and the nomads in the country.
“The country is very beautiful but it has got a lot of problems,” she says.
“There’s one Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar and one Mongolia in the countryside. It’s kind of pathetic.”
Asia House analyst Mao Zhouchen is more optimistic.
“Mongolia is likely to outpace China’s economic growth next year,” he told the Mongolian Economic Forum.
Ngaire Woods, a professor of global economic governance at Oxford University, said every fast-growing small economy in the world faces huge challenges at the moment.
“These forces mean that a country like Mongolia has to navigate with speed and deftness.”
Australian miner Rio Tinto is looking to take advantage after a tumultuous few years.
The mining giant forgave the Mongolian government’s $3.4 billion share of debt for the construction of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine last year and began digging in one of the world’s largest copper reserves in March.
“Think about an ore body the size of Manhattan, that’s 1300 metres below the Earth’s surface, in a fairly remote part of the world that sort of gives you a sense of the challenge,” said chairman Dominic Barton.
“We could have spent that capital elsewhere, but we chose to spend it here.”
“In 1970, South Korea had no energy whatsoever. They had no iron ore, they had no coking coal, they had no industry. They had a GDP per capita of $100,” he said.
“And most organisations, including the World Bank, said: ‘This is the craziest thing you could possibly do. Do not build this’.”
South Korea now has a GDP per capita of $52,000.
“And this is something that I also see in Mongolia. Ambition,” he says. “People have a vision.”
BY: Eryk Bagshaw is the North Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
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B.Lkhagvasuren: The Bank of Mongolia fully supports foreign investment www.mongolbank.mn

The Prime Minister's morning meeting with the management of Bank of Mongolia, Ministry of Finance, and domestic commercial banks, and representatives of foreign investment banks and investment funds is ongoing.
In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister extended his heartfelt wishes for a happy Naadam Festival to the attendees and provided a brief overview of Mongolia's macroeconomic situation.
He stated, "COVID-19 has presented one of the toughest challenges for us. Our economy contracted by -4.7% during the pandemic, but it is now in a phase of recovery. In 2022, we achieved an economic growth rate of 4.8%, and we expect it to reach approximately 6% this year."
The Prime Minister emphasized, "Our country recently amended the Constitution, increasing the number of members in Parliament to 126. This is a significant step to ensure policy stability for investors. The introduction of a mixed electoral system will promote wider representation and gender equality, and provide greater opportunities for other political parties. Additionally, the Government of Mongolia is actively combating corruption and intensifying the digital transition to create a more transparent and business-friendly environment."
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