During her working visit to China, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Batmunkhiin Battsetseg visited Beijing branch of the Chinese company iFLYTEK yesterday and got familiarized with the company's AI-based voice, speech recognition and translation software, digital audio language translation equipment, and smart computer software.

iFLYTEK develops a variety of artificial intelligence products and applications in the fields of education, health, urban planning, and manufacturing.

Since 2010, iFLYTEK Open Platform has been developing a one-stop artificial intelligence solution focused on intelligent voice and human-computer interaction.

Minister of Foreign Affairs B. Battsetseg expressed an interest in cooperating with iFLYTEK company saying that it is possible to seek opportunities to fill the shortage of staff in health and educational institutions in rural areas of Mongolia using the company's technology, organize international conferences, meetings, and events simultaneously without the need for interpreters in foreign languages using artificial intelligence-based translation and interpreting equipment, introduce it in some government services for foreign citizens. The Foreign Minister invited iFLYTEK company management to visit Mongolia in the near future for cooperation.

In 2017 and 2019, iFLYTEK was selected as one of the top 50 global technology companies by MIT, ranked first in China and sixth in the world in 2017. In 2016, iFLYTEK translation equipment was introduced to the Chinese market.

A delegation led by Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary László Kövér will pay an official visit to Mongolia on May 4-7, at the invitation of Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia Gombojaviin Zandanshatar.

During the visit, Speaker of the Parliament of Mongolia G. Zandanshatar and Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary László Kövér will hold official talks and exchange views on bilateral relations, inter-parliamentary cooperation, and other issues of mutual interest. Prime Minister of Mongolia L. Oyun-Erdene will pay a courtesy call on Speaker László Kövér.

Mongolia established diplomatic relations with Hungary on April 28, 1950. This visit is the second visit of the Head of the National Assembly of Hungary to Mongolia, and will be of considerable significance for the expansion of relations between the two countries and the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The export volume of edible chicken eggs from Novosibirsk Region to Mongolia has reached 8 million 953.3 thousand eggs since the beginning of the year. This was reported on the regional Rosselkhoznadzor website.

Compared to the same period last year, this figure has increased by 1.7 times. A total of 32 batches of eggs, mostly of the first category, were shipped to the Mongolian recipients in 2023 under the supervision of the Ministry’s specialists.

The agency specified that all of the prepared batches met the requirements of the importing country in terms of product quality and safety.

Yevsikov Alexei Nikolaevich, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Mongolia, today has presented his Letter of Credence to President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, who extended his felicitations on the ambassador's appointment and wished him success in his future endeavors. The President noted that the Mongolian government pays great attention to expanding the Friendly Relations and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation with the Russian Federation and expressed Mongolia’s aspiration to strengthen the 100-year-old relations by jointly implementing large programs and projects.

Emphasizing that Mongolia is not only a close neighbor but also an essential partner of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Yevsikov A.N. expressed his commitment to expanding the relations and cooperation between the two countries. He expressed his intention to give emphasis on the project of developing natural gas infrastructure and improving the efficiency of the "Ulaanbaatar-Railway" joint venture.

The parties also exchanged views on relations and cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, energy, border ports’ development, education, culture, environment, and youth exchange.

The centenary commemoration of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Russia was celebrated throughout 2021. In 2019, President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, who was Prime Minister at the time, paid a working visit to the Russian Federation and secured a guarantee from President V.V. Putin for the project of developing natural gas infrastructure from Russia to China through Mongolian territory.

Additionally, during the President's official visit in 2021, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen ties and cooperation in areas such as trade, economy, reliable supply of petroleum products, education, and culture, concluding pertinent documents.

During the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states held in Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan in 2022, the President of Mongolia, together with Russian President V.V. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, convened a tripartite meeting. At this meeting, the leaders reached an agreement on the implementation of the "China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor. "

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Mongolia, Yevsikov Alexei Nikolaevich, is a professional diplomat with 39 years of experience in Foreign Affairs.

An employee of UNICEF Mongolia S. Moiltmaa, who was working on a temporary assignment in Sudan, landed at "Chinggis Khaan" International Airport this morning.

Her family and the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mongolia Tapan Mishra, and the UNICEF Representative in Mongolia Evariste Kouassi-Comlan welcomed her on arrival. The UN representatives expressed their happiness that she had returned home safe from the armed conflict region.

The United Nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense provided her support to transfer from the hot spot of the armed conflict to a safe place.

After three months working in shearing gangs across New Zealand, four Mongolian sheep herders will soon return to their homeland with new knowledge and skills that have the potential to change their lives and reshape the shearing scene in their native country.

The four Mongolians herders - Budee, Baaska, Ama and Khanda – arrived in New Zealand in early January having done all their previous shearing using scissors, a time-consuming practice which limits the number of sheep that can be shorn in a day to about 30. With their trip wrapping up shortly, each of the herders is now shearing competently using an electronic handpiece and all four have achieved shearing personal bests of more than 250 sheep in a day – a feat which has previously only been achieved by one other Mongolian.

The visit to New Zealand was undertaken as part of the Share Mongolia programme – an initiative to introduce modern shearing techniques and equipment into Mongolia that took flight following a chance encounter between Rabobank agribusiness manager Paul Brough and local Mongolian farmers in 2019.

“While I was trekking through Mongolia in 2019, I came across a group of farmers who were shearing a herd of about 900 using scissors and they told me it would take them about a month to complete the job,” Mr Brough said.

“This really blew my mind given how much quicker this can be done with electronic equipment, and I thought to myself, there must be something I can do to help. So once I got back to New Zealand, I had a few discussions with some work colleagues and clients, and we looked into running some training that would help develop Mongolian shearers skills with modern equipment.”

With additional help from Zoe Leetch and Enkhnasan Chuluunbaatar from Golden Bay, and Roy Fraser from Colville – who have previously lived in Mongolia and provided valuable local insights – the Share Mongolia initiative was established in 2020 and an initial idea hatched to run some courses with visiting New Zealand shearers in Mongolia.

“These courses first took place in 2022 and worked out pretty well, and then we figured it might also be of benefit to get some of the Mongolians over this way so they could develop new skills and then take these back home,” Mr Brough said.

“With funding support from the Rabobank Community Fund, we were able to get the four herders over here and tee them up with work, lodgings and shearing gear. And it really has been quite phenomenal to see how quickly their shearing skills have progressed over the last few months.”

While the Mongolians were quick to adapt to their new role as international shearers, Mr Brough said, there were some initial challenges given the language barrier and the significant differences between everyday life in New Zealand and Mongolia.

“They come from a region in Mongolia that is one of the coldest places on earth – dropping to temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius in winter – and is more than 1000 kilometres from the nearest coastline,” he said.

“Prior to the tour, none of the group had been on a plane or a boat, used modern appliances like a dishwasher or washing machine and only one had ever been in water above their knees,” he said.

“So the first few days here there was definitely a bit of a culture shock. But with the help of an interpreter as well as from local farmers who gave up their time to show them around and get them familiar with New Zealand woolsheds, they adjusted pretty rapidly.”

During the trip, the Mongolians spent time working as part of shearing gangs in Piopio, Hawkes Bay and Wairoa.

“The modern shearing gear, sheep size and wool quantity on the New Zealand sheep were very new to these guys, but they had great support from their fellow shearers and shed hands which helped them progress,” Mr Brough said.

“At the weekends they entered shearing competitions, including the recent New Zealand championships in Te Kuiti and, towards the last part of the tour, they achieved some really impressive results.

“Another highlight of the trip was their visit to west Otago in early February where they participated in Shear 4 A Cause – an event run to raise money for a host of rural community-focused charities. They also got to experience a number of activities for the first time, including riding the luge in Rotorua and giving surfing a crack at Raglan as part of the weekly Surfing for Farmers programme.”

Mr Brough said he was really amazed at the Mongolians resourcefulness and how incredibly focussed on learning to shear and making money they were.

“While here, they saved every cent they made with two giving up smoking when they found out the price of our cigarettes compared to the price they pay at home. They didn’t once complain and only one has missed a day’s work – due to a sprained ankle,” he said.

“With their families tucked up in their Gers (traditional Mongolian tent) back home in -40-degree temperatures, it was pretty clear at times they were terribly missing them. But they stuck with it, and they’re very excited about the opportunities their new skills will open for them and their loved ones once they are back in Mongolia.”

Mobile shearing trailers

Mr Brough said the four herders were due to depart in the coming days and their prospects on their return would be greatly enhanced by the construction of two mobile shearing trailers which are currently being built for them in Mongolia.

“The Share Mongolia team are currently undertaking a fundraising drive to help buy shearing equipment for these trailers,” he said.

“We’re hoping to raise $8,000 for this equipment, and the plan is to set the four of them up so they can have their own business as travelling shearers.

“Even though the Mongolian shearing season is relatively short, they should be able to work for about 60 days per year making $100 a day – significantly more than their previous best day where they made just $15.

“And, of course, there is potential for the farmers to further share their skills with local farmers so that they too can learn to use modern equipment.”

Mr Brough said the Share Mongolia programme would continue to support Mongolian herders and a number of further activities were planned for the coming months.

“In June of this year, a team of Rabobank clients and staff will travel to Mongolia to hold eight more shearing courses funded by the United Nations, the NZ Embassy (Beijing) and the Rabobank Community Fund,” he said.

“The goal is to train and equip another 120 herders to shear using electric machines. Other goals are to introduce wool sorting and wool presses to improve wool quality and transport. And we’re also planning a trail to test if electric shearing machines can be used to shear camels in the Gobi desert!.”

Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 120 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of about 10 million clients worldwide through a network of close to 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank New Zealand is one of the country's leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the New Zealand food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 32 offices throughout New Zealand.

Polish President Andrzej Duda paid a state visit to Mongolia from April 24 to 26. The visit has been in the works for some time; during his visit to Mongolia in 2022, Zbigniew Rau, the rotating chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Polish foreign minister, stated that the Polish president’s visit has been planned for a long time.

Marcin Przydach, head of the International Policy Department of the Polish Presidential Office, emphasized that although Mongolia and Poland are geographically distant, both countries have important geographical and geopolitical positions.

During his visit, the Polish president praised Mongolia’s democracy and highlighted the role Mongolia could play in resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “Poland has for years observed and appreciated Mongolia’s efforts not only to build democracy in the internal arena but to ensure peace and security in the world,” Duda said.

Mongolia and Poland have had diplomatic relations for over 70 years. The total trade volume between the two countries is approximately $100 million. The majority of bilateral trade consists of wool and cashmere, knitted products, fruits and vegetables, consumer goods, and construction materials. Most of these goods are generally imported from Poland.

Overall, regardless of the remote impact of geography, cooperation between the two countries in many fields such as politics, education, culture, and humanitarianism is successfully developing. Poland has expressed its interest in jointly building a copper smelter and a fossil fuel power station, which is much needed in Mongolia.

The Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe, which counts both Poland and Mongolia as members, also enriches their bilateral ties. The OSCE is one of the largest regional organizations with a total of 57 member countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

In 2004, Mongolia became the fifth Asian country to cooperate with the OSCE. After nearly a decade worth of efforts, Mongolia became a full member state in November 2012 – the first OSCE member located in East Asia.

The secretary general of the OSCE visited Mongolia in 2006 and 2012, meeting with heads of state, government, and some ministers, which promoted cooperation with the OSCE. Members of Mongolia’s parliament regularly participate in meetings of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, while representatives of Mongolia regularly participate in branch meetings and training sessions.

Since February 2022, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has become a cause of grave concern for the OSCE generally, and particularly for Poland, which borders Ukraine. The OSCE and many European countries have called on its member states to unite and overcome difficulties.

In 2022, as part of Europe’s diplomatic push linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many ministers and representatives from European countries visited Mongolia. During his visit, Polish Foreign Minister and 2022 OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau emphasized the importance of OSCE cooperation in Mongolia-Poland and Mongolia-OSCE relations.

During his own visit, Duda suggested that Mongolia and Poland face additional threats due to Russia’s invasion. Both countries know from experience what a world based on the use of force, rather than rule of law, looks like, he said. “At all costs, we cannot allow a return to that.”

In the future, Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa may visit Poland or other European countries to continue the recent flurry of Mongolia-Europe diplomacy. If so, Khurelsukh may also be interested in visiting Ukraine.

Since the Russian invasion began, more than 50 world leaders have visited Ukraine. Due to this crisis, it is currently difficult to travel to Ukraine by plane. All these leaders have traveled to Ukraine by train via Poland, and the Polish side is responsible for all security issues entering Ukraine. Duda has visited the war-stricken Ukraine region four times in the past. During his recent visit, the Polish president may have shared his experience and knowledge of the situation on the ground in Ukraine with Khurelsukh.

In addition, Khurelsukh gained experience visiting conflict areas during his tenure as prime minister from 2017 to 2021. In 2019, he visited South Sudan, which was experiencing civil war, and had exchanges with Mongolian peacekeeping personnel. It should also be emphasized that after the conflict began, Mongolia’s former President Elbegdorj Tsakhia has visited Ukraine multiple times.

Mongolia is a country that values peace and prosperity. In the past, Ulaanbaatar has attempted to serve as a mediator between the conflicting parties in other crises – for example, hosting talks in Ulaanbaatar to resolve the Korean Peninsula crisis. Although playing the role of mediator in peace and ceasefire negotiations is not the highest priority goal in Mongolia’s foreign policy, the current situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict highlights the importance of Mongolia’s potential participation in the relevant mediation work.

The political elite of Mongolia have private relationships in both Russia and Ukraine. Among the four presidents of Mongolia who have studied abroad, two received education in present-day Russia, and the other two received education in Ukraine (Elbegdorj at the Lviv Higher Military and Political School, and Bagabandi at the Odessa National Institute of Food Technology). In addition, many elites who received education in these areas during the former Soviet Union continued to express their concerns about the crisis in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy himself has a personal connection to Mongolia: He lived with his parents in the industrial city of Erdenet in northern Mongolia for about four years when he was child. On February 21, at the request of Zelenskyy, Khurelsukh had a phone conversation with the Ukrainian president. This indicates that Mongolia, which has friendly relations with all parties involved in the conflict, may hold some form of peaceful ceasefire negotiations in Ulaanbaatar.

Neighboring China also proposed 12 points for a peaceful ceasefire in February, and Chinese President Xi Jinping indicated further action toward this end in his recent phone call with Zelenskyy. Perhaps Mongolia will also communicate with China on this matter in the future.

GUEST AUTHOR

Chuluunbaataryn Sumiya

Chuluunbaataryn Sumiya is an economist and expert on international issues. Sumiya is currently working as a non-resident fellow at the Institute of International Studies, Mongolian Academy of Sciences.

Ding Liren has become China's first men's world chess champion, after defeating Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Ding, 30, won a rapid-play tiebreaker after 14 first-stage games at the World Chess Championship in Kazakhstan.

He succeeds Norway's Magnus Carlsen, the five-time champion who said he was "not motivated" to defend his title.

Carlsen accused a US opponent of cheating last year in a row that rocked the chess world. He remains number one in the rankings.

Ding's victory makes him the 17th winner of the world chess tournament, while Nepomniachtchi, who had previously made a grand final, fell at the final hurdle for a second time.

Ding said he was "quite relieved" after his victory, according to comments shared by FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

"The moment Ian resigned the game was a very emotional moment. I couldn't control my feelings. I know myself, I will cry and burst into tears. It was a tough tournament for me."

His victory was celebrated by chess fans and patriots in China, which is a growing chess power.

"One Ding to rule em all," tweeted fellow grandmaster Anish Giri after Ding's victory.

China's General Administration of Sport, a government department, also posted a warm congratulatory message, praising Ding for "winning glory for the motherland and its people".

A native of Wenzhou, China's "chess city", Ding triumphed in dramatic circumstances in Astana, the Kazakh capital.

The opening 14 games were played over three weeks. Ding and Nepomniachtchi each won three, with eight draws.

For the tiebreaker, each player had only 25 minutes to make their moves, plus an additional 10 seconds for each move played. Ding clinched victory in winning the fourth quick-fire game.

The 2m euro (£1.8m; $2.2m) prize money will be split 55-45 between the two players.

Ding was able to compete against Nepomniachtchi due to Carlsen's abstention. Ding had finished second at the Candidates Tournament, which players must win to challenge the world champion.

In 2009, he became China's youngest chess champion at national level.

Within 12 years, he had become the highest-ranked Chinese player in the world rankings, reaching second place.

Ding was undefeated in classical chess for 100 games from August 2017 to November 2018. This was the longest unbeaten streak in top-level chess history until Carlsen surpassed it in 2019.

His triumph reflects China's growth in the global chess scene.

China has dominated women's chess tournaments since the 1990s, when Xie Jun became the first Chinese person to claim a world title in 1991 in the women's game.

No Chinese player had ever previously won the World Chess Championship, in which both men and women can compete.