1 PRIME MINISTER OYUN-ERDENE VISITS EGIIN GOL HYDROPOWER PLANT PROJECT SITE WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      2 ‘I FELT CAUGHT BETWEEN CULTURES’: MONGOLIAN MUSICIAN ENJI ON HER BEGUILING, BORDER-CROSSING MUSIC WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      3 POWER OF SIBERIA 2: ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OR GEOPOLITICAL RISK FOR MONGOLIA? WWW.THEDIPLOMAT.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      4 UNITED AIRLINES TO LAUNCH FLIGHTS TO MONGOLIA IN MAY WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      5 SIGNATURE OF OIL SALES AGREEMENT FOR BLOCK XX PRODUCTION WWW.RESEARCH-TREE.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      6 MONGOLIA ISSUES E-VISAS TO 11,575 FOREIGNERS IN Q1 WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      7 KOREA AN IDEAL PARTNER TO HELP MONGOLIA GROW, SEOUL'S ENVOY SAYS WWW.KOREAJOONGANGDAILY.JOINS.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      8 MONGOLIA TO HOST THE 30TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF ASIA SECURITIES FORUM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      9 BAGAKHANGAI-KHUSHIG VALLEY RAILWAY PROJECT LAUNCHES WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      10 THE MONGOLIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND FDI: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITY WWW.MELVILLEDALAI.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/28      849 ТЭРБУМЫН ӨРТӨГТЭЙ "ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД" БООМТЫН ТЭЗҮ-Д ТУРШЛАГАГҮЙ, МОНГОЛ 2 КОМПАНИ ҮНИЙН САНАЛ ИРҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ХУУЛЬ БУСААР АШИГЛАЖ БАЙСАН "БОГД УУЛ" СУВИЛЛЫГ НИЙСЛЭЛ ӨМЧЛӨЛДӨӨ БУЦААВ WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МЕТРО БАРИХ ТӨСЛИЙГ ГҮЙЦЭТГЭХЭЭР САНАЛАА ӨГСӨН МОНГОЛЫН ГУРВАН КОМПАНИ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     "UPC RENEWABLES" КОМПАНИТАЙ ХАМТРАН 2400 МВТ-ЫН ХҮЧИН ЧАДАЛТАЙ САЛХИН ЦАХИЛГААН СТАНЦ БАРИХААР БОЛОВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ОРОСЫН МОНГОЛ УЛС ДАХЬ ТОМООХОН ТӨСЛҮҮД ДЭЭР “ГАР БАРИХ” СОНИРХОЛ БА АМБИЦ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МОНГОЛ, АНУ-ЫН ХООРОНД ТАВДУГААР САРЫН 1-НЭЭС НИСЛЭГ ҮЙЛДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙД Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ ЭГИЙН ГОЛЫН УЦС-ЫН ТӨСЛИЙН ТАЛБАЙД АЖИЛЛАЖ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     Ц.ТОД-ЭРДЭНЭ: БИЧИГТ БООМТЫН ЕРӨНХИЙ ТӨЛӨВЛӨГӨӨ БАТЛАГДВАЛ БУСАД БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫН АЖЛУУД ЭХЛЭХ БОЛОМЖ БҮРДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     MCS-ИЙН ХОЁР ДАХЬ “УХАА ХУДАГ”: БНХАУ, АВСТРАЛИТАЙ ХАМТРАН ЭЗЭМШДЭГ БАРУУН НАРАНГИЙН ХАЙГУУЛЫГ УЛСЫН ТӨСВӨӨР ХИЙЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     АМ.ДОЛЛАРЫН ХАНШ ТОГТВОРЖИЖ 3595 ТӨГРӨГ БАЙНА WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29    

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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Maximizing nutrition in key food value chains of Mongolia under climate change www.ifpri.org

Mongolia’s projected warming is far above the global average and could exceed 5 °C by the end of the century. The reliance on pastoral livestock and rainfed agriculture along with its fragile ecosystems put Mongolia’s economy at risk of adverse climate change impacts, particularly from climate extreme events. Eighty percent of Mongolia’s agricultural sector is concentrated in animal husbandry with around one third of the population relying on this livelihood. Beyond livestock, food production is concentrated in few crops: wheat; potatoes; and three vegetables (cabbage, carrot, and turnip). Climate change does not only affect food production but can exacerbate malnutrition by removing food and nutrients in all stages of the food value chain. To identify perceived effects of climate change and measures to reduce climate change impacts in Mongolia's’s key food value chains, we implemented focus group discussions with 214 livestock and vegetable producers, traders, and food consumers. We also conducted 30 key informant interviews at the soum, provincial, and national levels across four agroecosystems in three provinces. Based on this community engagement analysis, we identify interventions that the government and private sector, including herders and farmers, should undertake to increase the food security and nutrition of the country’s prioritized food value chains under climate change.

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IT Companies Consortium to Take Part in Online Coal Trading www.montsame.mn

Given the Mining Exchange Law will come into effect on July 1, the parties involved in online coal trading of the Mining Exchange began to be identified. "Erdenes IT Consortium", an association of information and technology companies is evidence. They intend to work together to create an eco-system in the mining industry by developing transport logistics, payment, and IT modules in online coal trading. To this end, a joint forum was organized under the theme "Ensuring the participation of parties in the operation of the Mining Exchange" on May 10.
The information and technology consortium participating in online coal trading includes 11 companies such as "Itzone," "iTools," "Gerege systems," "Cody," "Digital Finex," "Utility solution," "InnoSolution," "Itauco," "DPS" (Digital Payment Solution), and "Anicar" which have a long history of operating in the field of information technology in Mongolia. Executive Director of "Erdenes IT Consortium" B. Buyannemekh clarified, "Currently, in the mining ecosystem of our country a complex platform for product spot, forward and futures trading, option transactions, their payment and tracking of transport logistics has been developed." He said that national IT companies within the Consortium propose to invest and cooperate in activities of the Mining Exchange without taking any funds from the state budget.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Consortium D. Davaa said, "There are many problems in the current exchange trading. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the participation and cooperation of the public and private sectors, focus on forming the structure of the eco-system by introducing transport logistics, payment, and IT modules in the coal trade, and further develop it. In this way, the national mining eco-system could compete internationally.”
He underlined that information and technology companies, coal suppliers, transporters, and logistics companies are enabled to participate in the digital trade of the coal exchange, which has already started in our country, with their own systems and the system of IT companies’ consortium. In addition to major "players," small enterprises and individuals can participate in online coal trading through professional associations in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
Representatives of securities companies also participated in the "Mining Ecosystem" forum. The introduction of the Mining Exchange in Mongolia will bring a number of outcomes including :
· Make exchange trading reliable, transparent, and controlled,
· Create accredited laboratories, warehouses, and carriers,
· Facilitate participation of professional investors and investment funds, custodians, brokers, and traders,
· Increase state and local budget and tax revenues.
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Tax Spending and Equal Application of Laws www.montsame.mn

"Taxpayers' Days," which is held on the second week of May every year, was celebrated for the 25th year last week.
Equal participation of citizens and enterprises in tax relations and equal application of legislation were focused on during the "Taxpayers' Days." From this point of view, starting from this year the tax organization has applied a 4-level evaluation to calculate the extent to which taxpayers comply with legislation and conduct responsible activities.
Another feature of this year's "Taxpayers' Days" was the issue of tax spending. Head of the General Department of Taxation B. Zayabal mentioned the implementation of the Austerity Law and clarified that the beneficiaries of taxes, especially government and administrative organizations, are moving to the mechanism of saving tax expenditures and reporting this to the public. He announced that the Ministry of Finance and the tax organizations will jointly deliver information on tax spending to citizens through the e-barimt system.
Tax spending and equal application of laws were discussed during the "Tax Days". The tax authorities use real estate tax as an example of unequal and unfair payment of taxes and unequal enforcement of tax laws. The rate and amount of tax payable in this respect are unequal depending on the date and location of the real estate registration.
The number of taxable real estate has increased by 20,000 in the last two years. Specifically, in 2020, 45.1 thousand real estate were registered for tax, while this number increased to 56.7 thousand in 2021 and 63.8 thousand in 2022 respectively. However, the number of real estate taxpayers was 33.1 thousand in 2020, while this number increased to 39.6 thousand in 2021 and 43.8 thousand last year.
By law, the minimum real estate tax rate is 0.6 percent and the maximum rate is 2 percent. In reality, the tax is charged at a maximum of 1 percent depending on the zoning. Real estate tax is the main source of revenue of local budgets.
Taxable property and the number of taxpayers are increasing year by year, but the tax rate amount has not changed in the last 10 years.
Taxes are levied on income, consumption, and assets owned by citizens, enterprises, and organizations. The State Department Store has paid MNT 84 million in real estate tax for the past 20 years, while Shangri-La Hotel has paid MNT 8.8 billion in real estate tax. Even though they operate in the same zone of the city, depending on the evaluation registered in the registration authority, they pay extremely different taxes, according to the General Department of Taxation.
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Ivanhoe Electric sets up JV with Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden www.mining.com

Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE America, TSX: IE) is forming a 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Arabian miner Ma’aden to explore for metals considered key for the world’s energy transition in the Middle eastern country.
As part of the deal, Ma’aden will invest $126.5 million in Ivanhoe Electric equity, which grants the Gulf’s largest miner a 9.9% stake in the company, mining magnate Robert Friedland’s latest endeavour.
From that figure, $66 million will go to the JV to fund exploration and Ivanhoe Electric will keep the remaining $60 million to advance its own portfolio of US mineral projects.
“Our joint venture will embark on the largest exploration program ever conducted using our highly powerful and disruptive Typhoon geophysical surveying system,” Friedland, Ivanhoe Electric’s executive chairman, said in the statement.
Friedland was referring to the company’s electrical pulse-powered geophysical surveying transmitter technology, which can detect metals buried as deep as 1.5 kilometres underground. This makes it an ideal tool for surveying many parts of Saudi Arabia, where the bedrock is hidden by a sand and gravel cover that can exceed 1 km in depth, the company said.
The partners will look for battery metals such as copper, nickel and lithium, but will also search for gold, silver and iron ore.
Ivanhoe Electric’s proprietary technology, created by I-Pulse Inc. of Toulouse, France, is already in use at the company’s Santa Cruz copper project in Arizona.
The company said it currently had three Typhoon units, one of which will be deployed to Saudi Arabia. Three more of the surveying equipment will be purchased by the JV, the partners said.
The first of these new generation Typhoon units is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2024.
Friedland made his fortune from the Voisey’s Bay nickel project in Canada in the 1990s. Since then, he has been involved in some of the biggest mineral discoveries in the world, including the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia and the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Forbes estimates Friedland’s holdings are worth $2.7 billion as of May 2023.
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Mongolia shows Canadian foreign policy dominated by mining companies www.springmag.ca

An important facet of Canadian foreign policy is advancing the interests of mining companies. In Mongolia it’s largely all Global Affairs Canada does.
Canadian ambassador Catherine Ivkoff regularly travels to Canadian-run mines, speaks at international mining conferences, does interviews with mining publications and talks up the sector in various other business and political forums. “We will be working to promote Canadian Green Mining solutions and initiatives in Mongolia”, noted a recent headline based on an interview with Ambassador Ivkoff.
In a recent Canadian Journal of Development Studies article headlined “Mining self-interest? Canadian foreign aid and the extractive sector in Mongolia”, Stephen Brown points out that Canada’s aid in the Central Asian nation is largely designed to advance mining interests. An embassy official told Brown that Canadian aid in the country of 3.5 million people is “focused exclusively in the extractive sector” even though the World Bank warned that Mongolia’s economy was excessively reliant on mining. Another Canadian official admitted that “the aid program is designed to help Canadian investment,” largely by influencing the state’s “legal and operating environment.”
‘We’re here because of the mining’
Canadian diplomatic relations with Mongolia were in fact established largely to serve mining interests. As an embassy official also told Brown, “we’re here because of the mining”.
Beginning in 2005 the Financial Post, the business section of the National Post, began to press Ottawa to increase diplomatic relations with Mongolia. “Ottawa should open a full-fledged embassy with a career diplomat in the capital city of Mongolia, Ulan Bator, immediately,” demanded prominent columnist Diane Francis. In her column Francis quoted Ivanhoe Mining’s chairman Robert Friedland. “The U.S. is here with an embassy,” said Friedland. “Why is Canada ignoring a country that wants close relations and the only truly democratic country in Asia that needs our help? Why is Canada kissing Fidel Castro’s ass in Cuba? It’s hypocrisy.”
Julian Dierkes, a professor at the Institute of Asian Research at UBC, added her voice to calls for greater Canadian diplomatic representation in the most sparsely populated country in the world. “Mongolia is one of the few countries where Canada is the 800 pound gorilla,” Dierkes told the Financial Post in April 2007. “It’s the biggest investor, and everyone looks to Canada for leadership… [but] there’s still no embassy or diplomatic representation, which is really terrible. And so the initial enthusiasm for Canadian involvement in mining has been tempered somewhat by the lack of government involvement in any of this.”
In April 2008 Agence France Presse reported, “Canada will establish a new trade mission in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, this year to help Canadian companies active in the region’s mining sector.” Three months later the trade mission was expanded to full embassy status. Canadian diplomatic representation in Mongolia was necessary because, according to the parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance Ted Menzies, “there have been some policy issues including taxation, control and investment regulations that have put Canadian companies in the region in an extremely challenging position.”
Canadian ‘aid’: lobbying for extraction
With some 20 Canadian mining companies active in the country, Canada was the second largest investor in Mongolia. Ottawa’s biggest concern was Vancouver-based Ivanhoe, which owned a copper and gold project in the Gobi desert. The multibillion-dollar project, noted the Financial Post, “was the major campaign issue” in Mongolia’s 2008 election. In April 2006 at least 3,000 people marched against foreign mining in Mongolia’s capital, with protesters burning an effigy of Ivanhoe’s Robert Friedland. The ire directed towards Friedland was partly because of comments he made in 2005. Friedland explained his Mongolian venture to an investor’s conference this way: “So we’re coming in from outer space and landing at Oyu Tolgoi … And the nice thing about this: there’s no people around; the land is flat, there’s no tropical jungle; there’s no NGOs. We’re only 70 kilometers from the Chinese border. It does not snow here. You’ve got lots of room for waste dumps.” The company also took heat for loaning $50 million to the government in exchange for tax concessions.
Canada actively lobbied the Mongolian government on behalf of Ivanhoe. A Globe and Mail Report on Business headline described a 2008 trip to Mongolia by trade minister David Emerson: “Emerson to push for Ivanhoe deal in Mongolia.”
In a bid to deter nationalistic resource policies and woo the country’s decision-makers, Ottawa has doled out tens of millions of dollars in aid to Mongolia. The multiyear “Enhancing Resource Management through Institutional Transformation in Mongolia” and “Strengthening Extractive Sector Management in Mongolia” recently concluded. Ottawa put up $27 million for these two initiatives, which underwrote projects between Canadian firms and local community groups.
As part of building support for the extractive sector, Ottawa has paid for Mongolian journalists to attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto and wooed Mongolian officials at PDAC. During the recent PDAC conference in March there was a Mongolia Day with Canadian officials meeting their Mongolian counterparts.
At the 2017 PDAC convention international trade minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the commencement of the Canada–Mongolia Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). He said, “this agreement provides substantial protections for Canadian investors in Mongolia, where there are already significant Canadian-owned mining assets.” The FIPA is designed to protect Canadian mining firms by giving companies the right to sue the Mongolian government — in a private, investor-friendly, international tribunal — for pursuing policies that interfere with their profit making.
Canadian government activity in Mongolia, proves all Ottawa really cares about in the Central Asian nation is mining companies profits.
BY: Yves Engler
Yves Engler is the author of 12 books. His "Stand on Guard For Whom? -- A People's History of the Canadian Military" is available August 26
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Europe day event organized for the third time www.eeas.europa.eu

The Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia (“the Delegation”) celebrates the richness and diversity of European culture through Europe Day, an exhibition featuring the European Union, its member States, cultural institutes and European companies. All the projects co-funded by the European Union and its Member States in Mongolia displayed their activities that are benefiting people around Mongolia. The event took place on Sukhbaatar square on Sunday 14 May for one day.
The one-day cultural event was officially opened by the EU Ambassador to Mongolia Ms Axelle Nicaise, the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Amartuvshin and the Governor of Ulaanbaatar Mr Tumurtumuu Dolgorsuren, Deputy Governor of the Capital City.
Throughout the day, more than seventy booths showcased Europe’s unique heritage, vibrant culture, distinctive charms, tourism and educational opportunities and visa information. Visitors were able to taste Europe through many authentic European products on display. Musicians and performers brought the richness of Europe’s heritage to the eyes and ears of the Mongolian audience with live music and cultural exhibitions.
EU Ambassador Nicaise comments on the event: “What better way could there be to celebrate Europe Day in Mongolia? We are very pleased to bring a day of authentic cultures, experiences, and products from Member States of the European Union to Mongolia’s capital city for our Mongolian friends to experience. With this unique festivity we hope to build stronger ties between Europe and Mongolia and celebrate our long and rich histories together. Visitors will also be able to discover what the EU is doing in Mongolia by visiting the various projects funded by the EU.”
About the Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia
The Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia was established in 2017. It conducts official relations between the European Union and Mongolia, seeks to deepen EU-Mongolia cooperation, and exchanges in all fields.
 
 
 
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Mongolia’s Complex Relationship with Wolves: Balancing Tradition and Modern Conservation www.culture.org

In Mongolia, a country where nomadic pastoralism is deeply rooted in the culture, wolves (chono) occupy a variety of ecosystems, ranging from steppes and semi-deserts to mountainous regions.
Throughout history, wolves have been both demonized and romanticized in Mongolian culture. In fact, the nation’s most renowned figure, Chinggis Khan, is said to have descended from a wolf.
The Secret History of the Mongols, commissioned by Chinggis’ grandson Möngke Khan, details Chinggis’ lupine ancestry while also portraying wolves as adversaries.
The 17th-century historical chronicle, the Golden Summary, perpetuates the depiction of wolves as threats.
However, there are instances in poems and manuscripts from the 16th to the 19th century that evoke sympathy for wolves and thieves, as they both stole to survive.
Wolf Hunting and Socialism
Wolf hunting persisted in Mongolia despite these calls for compassion. In the 1950s, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party implemented collectivization and wolf extermination campaigns.
Professional wolf hunters with pelt quotas were introduced, and hunting was regarded as a legitimate form of Marxist production.
Hunters were celebrated and experienced, writing handbooks and attending conferences to share their knowledge.
These handbooks often began with a history of Mongolian hunting, emphasizing the idea that hunting was a valid form of Marxist production.
Throughout history, wolves have been both demonized and romanticized in Mongolian culture. In fact, the nation’s most renowned figure, Chinggis Khan, is said to have descended from a wolf.
Conservation Efforts and Pro-Wolf Advocacy
Conservation efforts in Mongolia have been inconsistent, with the end of socialism in 1991 leading to the elimination of wolf pelt quotas.
Although provinces still hold wolf hunts and offer socialist-style bounties, there is a growing number of pro-wolf voices advocating for conservation.
Books supporting wolves are sold alongside works by older hunters who worked for the socialist government.
Some advocate for American-style conservation efforts, but these proponents remain a minority compared to the prevailing anti-wolf sentiment.
The Complexity of Mongolia’s Relationship with Wolves
Mongolians have a complex relationship with wolves, simultaneously respecting their cultural significance and killing them to protect their livestock.
While herders grapple with wolf depredation, they express concern and disbelief over the extermination of wolves in other countries.
Mongolia’s relationship with wolves is multifaceted, reflecting both admiration and animosity.
Conservationists like Tumursukh Jal, the director of the Ulaan Taiga Strictly Protected Areas Administration, dedicate their careers to wildlife protection while acknowledging the challenges herders face in protecting their livestock.
Moving Forward: Balancing Tradition and Conservation
This intricate relationship underscores the need for a balanced approach to preserving tradition and promoting modern conservation efforts.
Increased dialogue between herders, conservationists, and policymakers may help bridge the gap between cultural reverence for wolves and the need to protect livestock.
Educational programs could also play a vital role in raising awareness about the importance of wolves in maintaining ecosystem balance, as well as promoting alternative, non-lethal methods of protecting livestock from wolf predation.
Ultimately, Mongolia’s complex relationship with wolves offers a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of tradition, culture, and conservation, and the delicate balance necessary to protect both wildlife and human livelihoods.
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Karakorum: Mongolia’s ancient capital is a cultural delight www.cnn.com

Karakorum is known by many names and even more reputations. Once the home of the world’s most famous Khan, this ancient city quickly became one of the Silk Road’s most important – and progressive – convergence points.
Located in Mongolia’s Övörkhangai province, Karakorum and its surrounding landscapes are among the best places to visit in Mongolia today.
Located just 350 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar, the country’s modern-day capital city, the road to Karakorum is an essential drive on any Mongolia travel itinerary not only for its beauty, but for its history.
It’s this same East meets West route that was once traveled by Turks, Chinese, Uighurs, Sogdians, Hungarians, Greeks, Armenians, Alans and Georgians. By diplomats, traders, artisans and merchants all looking to trade silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool and precious metals, as well as ideas.
Why 2023 is the year to visit Mongolia
Because of this, Karakorum quickly became a place where cultures would intertwine and learn to live in harmony with one another. Despite many of the connotations about Genghis Khan and his empire many of us hold today, Karakorum was a city built on understanding and acceptance.
It was a place where different religious practices were accepted, with at least 12 different pagan temples, two mosques, a church and at least one Buddhist temple located inside the city’s walls.
The city’s glory was, however, short lived. Kublai Khan eventually moved the empire’s capital to Beijing only 50 years after development first began. With harsh temperatures and a vulnerability to attacks, the city’s inhabitants didn’t stay around for long after that, and Karakorum quickly turned into a pile of rubble.
The Karakorum we see today may be nothing like it was in the days of the Great Khan, but with a recent vow from the president of Mongolia to revitalize this culturally significant city in the coming years, there’s a brighter future on the horizon.
Until then, there are still plenty of reasons to visit.
As a country with a nomadic culture Mongolia doesn’t have many traces of its past still standing. Even today, much of the Mongol’s history as one of the largest and most powerful empires in the world is a mystery still being pieced together.
Besides “The Secret History of the Mongols,” not many written accounts from the Mongolian Empire, as told by Mongols, remain. Archeological sites around Karakorum are still filling in many blanks.
Excavations in and around Karakorum have discovered paved roads, remains of brick and adobe buildings, floor-heating systems, bed stoves, evidence of the processing of copper, gold, silver, iron, glass, jewels, bones and birch bark, as well as coins from China and Central Asia, ceramics and four kilns.
Many of these discoveries, and the stories around them, can be found in the Karakorum Museum, a sleek and modern attraction in the heart of the city.
None of the artifacts and exhibitions, however, are as enthralling as the tale of the Silver Tree – a once ornate fountain that was the centerpiece of the Mongol capital.
According to the legend, the tree was adorned with silver fruit and flowing with various alcoholic drinks, including wine, fermented mare’s milk (airag), rice wine and honey mead, all for the grandsons of Genghis Khan and his invited guests.
The Silver Tree hasn’t been discovered and was most likely dismantled during one of the city’s raids, but the tale of it is enough to fill our own cups just like it once did those of the Mongol royals.
Back in 1585 when Karakorum was abandoned and falling into ruin, the city’s salvation came in the form of a Buddhist monastery commissioned by the then Khalkha-Mongolian prince.
It was the prince’s meeting with the third Dalai Lama, and his declaration of Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion of Mongolia, that would make Erdene Zuu Monastery the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia.
During the Soviet purges of the 1930s, Stalin himself saved a few of the main temples from being destroyed, calling them symbols of religious freedom. The monastery complex was eventually converted into a museum.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the monastery again became active, but nothing like its former days. At its peak, the monastery was home to more than 100 temples, around 300 yurts, and 1,000 monks in residence.
Today, Erdene Zuu Monastery is one of Mongolia’s most sacred Buddhist temples, with Buddhist-practicing Mongols vowing to visit the complex at least once in their lives.
The Laviran Temple at the back of the complex is where monks can be found chanting, practicing musical instruments and providing sacred readings daily.
Erdenesiin Khuree Mongolian Calligraphy Center
Another Karakorum highlight is the Erdenesiin Khuree Mongolian Calligraphy Center – among the best reasons to visit Mongolia, especially this summer.
With a recent expansion and the ability to offer a wider array of workshops and exhibitions that go beyond Mongolian calligraphy, the center focuses on promoting all aspects of Mongolian heritage.
Concerts featuring traditional Mongolian music as well as masterclasses on khoomei, or traditional Mongolian throat singing, will be held throughout the summer.
In September, the center plans to open a ceramic workshop.
Silver Tree Guest House
While Karakorum is often considered a stop along the route to somewhere else, this culturally rich city deserves closer attention. Visitors should plan to spend at least two days exploring this ancient area, booking at least one night at one of these hotels, guesthouses or tourist ger (yurt) camps.
The modern and clean Ikh Khorum Hotel and Restaurant stands out as one of the city’s most elegant choices. The hotel features 27 rooms, a sauna, restaurant, bar and lounge. The hotel is within walking distance to Erdene Zuu Monastery, Karakorum Museum, and the Erdenesiin Khuree Calligraphy Center.
While Silver Tree Guest House is still in its opening phases, staying here feels like you’ve been invited into someone’s home. And that’s also because it is. Silver Tree Guest House is a family-run guest house offering yurt stays, rooms with toilets and showers, and a restaurant that can accommodate both meat eaters and vegetable lovers.
It’s also the first building in Mongolia to utilize a biogas heating system and can speak several languages, including English, French, Russian, Polish, and Mongolian.
For the real yurt experience, Anja Camp makes the list as one of the best in Karakorum, offering ecologically healthy and natural meals from their three-season greenhouse as well as having a focus on environmental projects.
The camp and its founders have started initiatives to grow sea buckthorn to stop soil erosion, using the trees to create creams, liqueurs, organic juice, organic oil, and – a Mongolian favorite – sea buckthorn tea. They also have a sister lodge in Elsen Tasarkhai, the Sweet Gobi Geolodge, an hour outside of Karakorum that’s worth checking into if you’re in the area.
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Shift in Mongolia's Buddhist leadership to determine its relationship with China www.devdiscourse.com

An immediate shift in Mongolia's Buddhist leadership was seen after Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama recognised an 8-year-old US-born Mongolian boy as one of the highest spiritual leaders in Buddhism in March this year, according to several media reports. As a result, this shift in Buddhist leadership which became visible also holds the potential to shift the direction of Mongolia's relationship with China, according to a report of Modern Diplomacy.
In an opinion in Modern Diplomacy, Victoria Jones, a Senior Research Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, an international policy assessment group based in London writes that the young boy will serve as the representative of Mongolia's dominant religion, Tibetan Buddhism, and he would become a much more significant figure if the current Dalai Lama were to unexpectedly pass away. "The move also reverberates more widely in terms of the future of Tibetan Buddhism at large, especially when it comes to the selection of the next Dalai Lama. It is yet another reminder to Beijing that the Tibetan resistance movement is alive and well--and it now has a fresh new figurehead who holds meaningful religious authority," she writes.
"The Mongolian government itself has not yet commented on this latest announcement, perhaps to avoid upsetting China, as Beijing has repeatedly punished Mongolia for previously hosting the Dalai Lama throughout the past decades," opines Jones. China closed a border crossing with its neighbour after the spiritual leader's 2002 visit, and during his 2006 tour, flights from the Chinese capital to Mongolia were halted.
China's most recent and severe retaliation against Mongolia for a Dalai Lama visit took place in 2016. The Dalai Lama allegedly recognised the 10th Khalka Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche that year, but due to his youth, he reportedly felt it was too soon to properly present him to the world, Modern Diplomacy reported. "Beijing did not merely hit Mongolia with a scolding and stern word, but real, practical consequences as well. One week after the Dalai Lama's visit, China imposed fees on Mongolian commodity imports and extra transit costs on products crossing into Inner Mongolia. Moreover, Beijing closed a key border crossing with Mongolia, leading to congestion and serious traffic jams and leaving truck drivers stuck in freezing temperatures for days on end," Jones writes.
Moreover, Beijing also meddles actively in the religious issues of Mongolia in addition to using its economic influence over that nation. China encourages interactions with Mongolian Buddhist clergy as a means of strengthening its hold; more specifically, it does so by focusing on and supporting sects that are antagonistic to the Dalai Lama. It's also important to take into account China's worries over Mongolia's ethnic composition. In reality, Beijing faces additional friction because there are more Mongols living inside China than in Mongolia.
"The CCP's response to this perceived problem has been to crack down on Mongol culture in Inner Mongolia, for instance, by passing a law in 2020 prohibiting teachers from using the Mongolian language--a policy reminiscent of the one instituted in the so-called night-stay schools in Tibet-- as part of an effort to make Han Chinese and Mongol culture indistinguishable," Jones writes in Modern Diplomacy. This action sparked protests in Inner Mongolia, as China's crackdown was unaccepted by the Mongolians.
In terms of Tibetan Buddhism, both historically and currently, Mongolia is of utmost significance. The word "Dalai" actually comes from the Mongolic language and means "ocean," "vast," or "great," Jones said. The Dalai Lama acknowledged the 8-year-old as Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche's reincarnation during his visit to Mongolia a few years ago in 2016.
The Mongolian boy named the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche had visited Dharamshala along with a group of Mongolian devotees and attended the teachings of the Dalai Lama and preliminary Chakrasamvara empowerment on March 8-9 this year. The Office of the Dalai Lama in early this March released a photograph of the young boy Lama with a caption that read, "The reincarnation of Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche of Mongolia presenting traditional offerings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the start of the preliminary Chakrasamvara Empowerment at the main Tibetan temple in Dharamshala."
Moreover, while reading a paper/ letter on March 8 during the teachings, Dalai Lama said, "Khalkha Jetsun Rinpoche is here with us today. He came here to receive the Chakrasamvara empowerment, the previous Jetsun Dhambas practice mainly Chakrasamvara and it's an auspicious occasion." (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
 
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Fitch Affirms Mongolia at 'B'; Outlook Stable www.fitchratings.com

Fitch Ratings - Hong Kong - 15 May 2023: Fitch Ratings has affirmed Mongolia's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B' with a Stable Outlook.
A full list of rating actions is at the end of this rating action commentary.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
Strong Growth, External Vulnerabilities: Mongolia's ratings are underpinned by favourable medium-term growth prospects and high per capita income relative to 'B' rated peers. The ratings are constrained by the country's high reliance on external funding and commodity exports to China amid high external debt and low foreign-exchange reserves. Mongolia scores well on World Bank Governance Indicators relative to 'B' peers, but has suffered from political volatility around issues of resource nationalism.
Growth Rebound: We forecast real GDP growth of 5% in 2023, similar to 2022, on stronger mining activity and steady domestic demand. Growth will likely accelerate in 2024. Coal exports are rebounding after China's removal of border pandemic controls. Export capacity will rise further once cross-border rail links become fully operational in the next one-two years. The strategic Oyu Tolgoi copper mine's underground phase started production in March 2023, although most of the volume gains will only come from 2025. Other mining and infrastructure projects could support medium-term growth.
External Finances Stabilising: The export rebound is helping rein in the current account deficit (CAD), which we expect to shrink to about USD1.7 billion-1.8 billion (about 9% of GDP) in 2023-2024, from about USD2.3 billion (over 13% of GDP) in 2022. We expect inflows of FDI to cover the CAD. Official foreign-exchange (FX) reserves recovered to USD3.7 billion in April 2023, from a trough of USD2.7 billion in August 2022, while bank deposit dollarisation stabilised at 37% of total deposits in March 2023, having risen from 24% at end-2021.
External Finances Remain Precarious: Net external debt, at 160% of GDP in 2023 will be around 6x the 'B' median, although over 30% of this is intercompany lending (FDI), and over 20% is the government's bilateral and multilateral loans on concessional terms, both of which we expect will continue to be stable sources of funding. Reserve coverage ratios, though improved, remain weaker than the 'B' median. Gross reserves are supported by about USD1.7 billion in swap liabilities to the People's Bank of China, which we expect to be rolled over, and similar amounts of FX liabilities to domestic banks.
Maturity Management: Just over USD150 million in government external debt is due in the rest of 2023, with the proceeds of a USD650 million issuance in January mostly used to repay and exchange bonds maturing in May. The Development Bank of Mongolia (DBM) has set aside reserves to repay a JPY30 billion (USD220 million) government-guaranteed bond in December. The government is authorised to guarantee DBM bonds maturing in October (about USD437 million outstanding), which we assume will be used to roll them over. Government external debt maturities in 2024 are USD680 million.
Narrow Fiscal Deficit: We forecast general government fiscal deficits at under 1% of GDP in 2023-2024, after a surplus of 1% of GDP in 2022, reflecting our expectation that higher spending will offset the boost to revenue from the mining sector and inflation. Last year's fiscal outturn marked a significant turnaround from the 3% of GDP deficit in 2021. The government originally budgeted a deficit of under 2% of GDP in 2023, but has since raised its projection for mining revenue by over 1% of GDP.
Underlying Fiscal Stance Expansionary: We estimate that the non-mineral primary deficit will remain at around 11%-12% of non-mining gross value-added (GVA), down from 21% in 2020, but 4pp-5pp worse than in 2017-2019, largely a result of increases to pensions and child support payments legislated in a 2022 supplementary budget, costing over 3% of GDP (5% of non-mining GVA). In our view, there are no credible fiscal anchors, and impetus for fiscal consolidation will be limited in the run-up to legislative elections in June 2024.
Commodity Dependence, Risks: The outlook for external finances is highly sensitive to commodity revenues, which account for 90% of total external receipts and 30% of government revenue. For example, a 10% shortfall in coal volume relative to our baseline would imply a USD500 million (4% of GDP) hit to the CAD in 2023 and a USD100 million hit to government revenue.
Debt Declining; Sizeable Contingent Liabilities: Government debt edged down to 60% of GDP in 2022 from about 61% of GDP in 2021 on strong nominal growth and an improved fiscal balance. We expect debt to continue on a downward path broadly in line with the 'B' median, reaching about 55% of GDP by 2024, including DBM debt assumed to be rolled over with a government guarantee. However, the government has significant potential contingent liabilities, including unguaranteed state-owned enterprise debt of over 15% of GDP and the Bank of Mongolia's (BOM) negative equity position of about 7% of GDP.
Inflation Peaking; Monetary Stance Mixed: We expect headline inflation to average 12% yoy in 2023, from an average of over 15% in 2022, before moderating to 9% in 2024, slightly above the BOM's 4%-8% target. Full normalisation of trade with China and lower global commodity prices should exert a downward pull on inflation, although international sanctions on Russia are still leading to elevated import costs.
The BOM raised its policy rate to 13% in December, bringing cumulative hikes in 2022 to 700bp. However, the impact of this could be blunted by nearly MNT3 trillion (6% of GDP) in liquidity injections from the redemption in central bank bills in 2022. Government-approved customs exemptions for diesel and gasoline imports in 2Q23 appear to run contrary to the BOM's moves to tighten policy.
Banking System Stable: Non-performing loans have remained steady at about 10% of total sector loans, although underlying asset quality issues may be masked by high nominal growth, ongoing subsidised lending programmes and a moratorium on mortgage repayments, which only ended in December 2022. The BOM completed an asset quality review of domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), and three of the five D-SIBs have already launched IPOs to reduce shareholder concentration, meeting a BOM requirement to do so by June 2023.
ESG - Governance: Mongolia has an ESG Relevance Score of '5[+]' for Political Stability and Rights and '5' for the Rule of Law, Institutional and Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption. Theses scores reflect the high weight that the World Bank Governance Indicators have in our proprietary Sovereign Rating Model. Mongolia has a medium World Bank Governance Indicator ranking at the 47th percentile.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/Downgrade
- External Finances: Heightened external stress, which may be evident from restricted access to external-financing sources or a marked decline in foreign reserves.
- Public Finances: Significant increase in the budget deficit or the government debt/GDP ratio.
- Structural Features: Political instability and/or major policy shifts sufficient to significantly disrupt strategic mining projects or FDI inflows.
Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade
- External Finances: The accumulation of larger foreign-currency reserve buffers and the implementation of a debt-management strategy that lowers refinancing risks and improves external debt sustainability.
- Macroeconomic: Strong and sustained economic growth and export without the emergence of imbalances, and the maintenance of a favourable business environment conducive to robust FDI inflows.
- Public Finances: Sustained reductions in the government debt/GDP ratio.
SOVEREIGN RATING MODEL (SRM) AND QUALITATIVE OVERLAY (QO)
Fitch's proprietary SRM assigns Mongolia a score equivalent to a rating of 'B+' on the Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LT FC) IDR scale.
Fitch's sovereign rating committee adjusted the output from the SRM score to arrive at the final LT FC IDR by applying its QO, relative to SRM data and output, as follows:
- Structural: -1 notch, to reflect lingering risk of political volatility around issues of resource nationalism, which could negatively impact foreign investment and mining sector exports.
- Macro: +1 notch, to reflect Mongolia's strong medium-term growth prospects, which are not fully reflected in the current SRM output and are stronger than that of peers.
- External Finances: -1 notch, to reflect Mongolia's vulnerability to external shocks, given its dependence on commodity exports to China, as well its high external financing needs and debt in the context of relatively low foreign-exchange reserves.
Fitch's SRM is the agency's proprietary multiple regression rating model that employs 18 variables based on three-year centred averages, including one year of forecasts, to produce a score equivalent to a LT FC IDR. Fitch's QO is a forward-looking qualitative framework designed to allow for adjustment to the SRM output to assign the final rating, reflecting factors within our criteria that are not fully quantifiable and/or not fully reflected in the SRM.
BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO
International scale credit ratings of Sovereigns, Public Finance and Infrastructure 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 three 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.
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
Mongolia has an ESG Relevance Score of '5[+]' for Political Stability and Rights as World Bank Governance Indicators have the highest weight in Fitch's SRM and are therefore highly relevant to the rating and a key rating driver with a high weight. As Mongolia has a percentile rank above 50 for the Governance Indicator, this has a positive impact on the credit profile.
Mongolia has an ESG Relevance Score of '5' for Rule of Law, Institutional & Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption as World Bank Governance Indicators have the highest weight in Fitch's SRM and are therefore highly relevant to the rating and are a key rating driver with a high weight. As Mongolia has a percentile rank below 50 for the respective Governance Indicators, this has a negative impact on the credit profile.
Mongolia has an ESG Relevance Score of '4[+]' for Human Rights and Political Freedoms as the Voice and Accountability pillar of the World Bank Governance Indicators is relevant to the rating and a rating driver. As Mongolia has a percentile rank above 50 for the Governance Indicator, this has a positive impact on the credit profile.
Mongolia has an ESG Relevance Score of '4[+]' for Creditor Rights as willingness to service and repay debt is relevant to the rating and is a rating driver for Mongolia, as for all sovereigns. As Mongolia has a record of more than 20 years without a restructuring of public debt and captured in our SRM variable, this has a positive impact on the credit profile.
Except for the matters discussed above, the highest level of ESG credit relevance, if present, is a score of 3. This means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or to the way in which they are being managed by the entity. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visitwww.fitchratings.com/esg.
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