In January, the gold purchase of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) was 1.6 tons. It means the amount of precious metal purchase increased by 312 kg compared with the same period of the previous year.

In January, the BoM branches in Darkhan-Uul and Bayankhongor aimags bought 48.5 kg and 64.1 kg of precious metals respectively.

The average price of BoM’s purchase of 1 gram of gold was MNT 166,244.8 last month.

Minister of Environment and Tourism B.Bat-Erdene is holding series of meetings with representatives of foreign companies. On February 7, the Minister together with Deputy Environment Minister G.Tuvdendorj, Acting Director of the environment ministry’s Tourism Policy Coordination Department A.Enkhbat, Director of Tourism Development Center S.Bat-Erdene met with Turkish Airlines Ulaanbaatar Director Ali Özdemir.

At the meeting, the Turkish Airlines representative said it is possible to add Ulaanbaatar to multi-city package tours from China, Japan, and South Korea to Europe and from Europe to Southeast Asia, which would enable the traveler to tour Ulaanbaatar without much additional cost.

In particular, the airline’s flights which cost USD 992 on the route Europe-Tokyo-Europe could cost additional USD 170 on Tokyo-Europe-Ulaanbaatar-Tokyo route and the cost for flights on Seoul-Europe-Seoul route is estimated to increase by USD 70 if the route is changed to Seoul-Europe-Ulaanbaatar-Seoul.

A 2019 study shows around 6 million tourists from Japan, 8 million tourists from China and 9 million tourists from South Korea traveled to Europe on Turkish Airlines flights. In the same year, the three countries received about 11 million tourists from Europe.

Mr. Ali Özdemir said Ulaanbaatar could be added to the multi-city package tours without any increase in flight cost as well and that he is confident that the tourists would be glad to visit Ulaanbaatar without paying more. “They will be able to see the Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs and Tumen Ekh Ensemble in Ulaanbaatar, and shamanic rituals and buy cashmere products at relatively less prices than in Europe, which will bring economic benefits to not only tourism, but other industries. Most importantly, Ulaanbaatar will have tourists in winter and spring,”

“For example, a tourist going from Europe to South Korea for a 15-day travel could spend three days in Ulaanbaatar on their way,” he added, presenting estimates made in this regard. During the meeting the Turkish Airlines also put forth a request to increase the number of its flights, saying the current regulation limiting seating capacity to 800 seats for three flights per week is affecting tourists. “Turkish Airlines has the capacity to offer flights every day through the year, especially three to four flights a day in summer,”

The airline representative also emphasized the need to liberalize the airline industry in Mongolia, saying that ticket prices became cheaper and Turkey started receiving 60 million tourists after the privatization of Turkish Airlines and that the country’s airline industry expanded thanks to the privatization. “As someone who works in the industry, I would say people now want to see the nomadic culture, not the sea. I am confident that Mongolia will receive a great number of tourist if the industry is liberalized”

Environment Minister B.Bat-Erdene concurred with the airline representative that the liberalization of the industry will pave the way for the arrival of more tourists, saying the economy would expand with more tourist arrivals.

Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported 1,192 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 452,882, the health ministry said Wednesday.

More than half of the latest confirmed cases were detected in rural areas, the ministry said, adding that daily COVID-19 infections is expected to increase in rural areas due to celebrations of the traditional White Moon festival or the Lunar New Year.

Meanwhile, three more COVID-19 patients died in the past day, bringing the death toll to 2,062, the ministry added.

So far, 66.7 percent of the country's total population of 3.4 million has received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, while more than 1,010,300 people aged over 18 have received a third dose.

In addition, over 85,300 Mongolians have received a fourth dose, which the country started to administer from Jan. 7 on a voluntary basis.

The APO Technical Expert Services (TES) Program engages specialists in a range of topics at the request of member countries for in-country consultancy. TES aims to boost national productivity by providing real-world solutions to problems and assisting member countries and National Productivity Organizations (NPO) in upgrading their technical knowledge and competencies through tailor-made, intensive interventions by experts on diverse productivity issues and challenges. TES projects were recently conducted for Mongolia, Pakistan, and Thailand.

In cooperation with the Mongolian Productivity Organization (MPO), a virtual in-country TES project on Business Continuity and Resilience for SMEs was held 13–15 December 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many SMEs and other businesses closed or nearly closed in Mongolia. Therefore, the MPO found it crucial to provide training to help SMEs stay productive and be prepared for disruptions. One of its new strategies for productivity improvement and promotion is to assist businesses in being more resilient. This TES project focused on providing skills and knowledge on the most effective productivity tools and techniques for SMEs to prepare for and cope with the pandemic or other external threats. It also provided guidance on developing strategies for SME business continuity, helped the MPO prepare training modules on business continuity, and increased public awareness of the need for productivity enhancement in the new normal. A total of 10 participants from the MPO participated, and two resource persons from Malaysia conducted the sessions.

TES project on Business Continuity and Resilience for SMEs

Another digital in-country TES capacity-building course on Heat-tolerant Wheat for Pakistan was organized with the NPO Pakistan, 15–22 December 2021. A total of 45 participants from the NPO and Wheat Research Institute, Faisalabad, participated in the sessions conducted by two resource persons from the USA and UK. Wheat is the major staple food crop of Pakistan, where estimated per capita consumption is about 124 kg/year. High temperature is a major problem for cropping systems in the country, with unexpected spatial and temporal variations causing reduced plant growth and productivity. To cope with this, the NPO and other institutions initiated a capacity-building program to share the latest know-how for enhancing wheat yield and productivity under the evolving climate scenario. The TES project aimed to create awareness among agriculturists and practitioners of changing climatic conditions and their effect on wheat production as well as to enhance wheat yield.

TES capacity-building course on Heat-tolerant Wheat for Pakistan

The Thailand Productivity Institute (FTPI) intends to conduct an impact assessment for the public sector as it is one channel that can incentivize productivity. The APO and FTPI organized a digital in-country TES workshop on Assessment of Socioeconomic Impacts of Government’s Operations, 29 November–3 December 2021. The program covered all aspects of social and economic impact assessment and evaluation for seven participants from the FTPI Research Department with the support of a resource person from Australia. The workshop developed the competency of participants in socioeconomic impact assessment to enable them to conduct future FTPI research on the topic.

On January 19, 2022, the Parliament of Mongolia approved the Foreign Ministry’s appointment of two female diplomats. A long-time diplomat, E.Sarantogos, was appointed as the ambassador to South Korea, and D.Gerelmaa was appointed as the ambassador to Switzerland. Before that, in late December 2021, U.Nyamkhuu was appointed as ambassador to France, marking the first female diplomat to head the Mongolian mission there. As an ambassador to France, her mission also includes strengthening relations with Spain, Portugal, Monaco, and Andorra.

With these appointments, Mongolia officially set its record for the most female ambassadors serving at a given time. Foreign Minister of Mongolia B.Battsetseg Batmunkh – one of Mongolia’s female diplomats herself – stated in a tweet, “In the history of the Mongol diplomacy, Mongolia now has the highest number of female ambassadors, six out of 31 ambassadors”. (diplomat)

Perhaps inhibited by the freezing temperatures, most national team uniforms featured thick windproof down coats and bulky headgear when the athletes entered Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium for Friday night’s Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

There were plenty of dark, neutral tones and colour blocks in line with delegations’ flags – which was fair enough, given the athletes are representing their homelands at Beijing 2022. However, some delegations stood out with vibrant patterns or unique shapes that caught the eye. There are of course no medals for best dressed at the Winter Olympics, but regardless, we were still treated so some spectacular showcases of style.

Indeed, many countries at the Games chose to outfit their athletes in uniforms made by representative national brands. Mongolians costumes made by ‘Misheel Amazonca’, a local brand was named one of the best national team uniforms. Mongolia also chose to go the same route – though their athletes would have been a little warmer than most countries.

In Mongolia, the mining sector makes up 24 percent of the country's GDP, 69 percent of the industrial sector, 77 percent of foreign direct investment and 93 percent of exports. According to last year, total revenue of the state budget was MNT 13,362.3 billion, of which 29.6 percent or MNT 4,114.4 billion was generated by the mining sector alone, reported the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry.

Before the pandemic, Mongolia used to export over 30 million tons of coal annually, but last year it exported 16,138 thousand tons. Despite the decline in the volume of mineral exports, the income from export in 2021 was equal to those of previous years as a result of high commodity prices in the world market and response to the pandemic. For instance, the country exported 36,265 thousand tons of coal and earned USD 2,803 million in 2018, exported 36,604 thousand tons of coal and earned USD 3,079 million in 2019, 28,677 thousand tons and earned USD 2,127 million in 2020, as well as exported 16,138 thousand tons of coal and earned USD 2,779 million in 2021.

In 2021, the price for copper concentrate rose. In 2017, it exported 1,447 thousand tons of copper concentrate and ore and earned USD 1,613 million from it, while last year the country sold 1,283 thousand tons and earned USD 2,900 million.

Eighty-five percent of coal exports go through Gashuunsukhait and Shiveekhuren border crossings, 54 percent of copper concentrate exports -- through Gashuunsukhait and 46 percent -- through Zamyn-Uud border crossing.

Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Economic Development B.Javkhlan held a meeting with Deputy Chairman of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Ning Jizhe on February 7.

Organized in the framework of the Mongolian Prime Minister’s visit, the meeting was also attended by Ambassador of Mongolia to China T.Badral, Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar D.Sumiyabazar, and Governor of the Bank of Mongolia B.Lkhagvasuren.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on opportunities to jointly implement large-scale infrastructure projects in the framework of the ‘New Revival Policy’ of the Government of Mongolia, such as the construction of a highway and a two-way railroad en route Altanbulag - Zamiin-Uud, and the construction of railroads at Gashuunsukhait - Gantsmod and Shiveekhuren - Sekhee border checkpoints. They also held an extended discussion on certain projects that are of priority for the side of Mongolia, which include increasing the transport of coal being exported through Gashuunsukhait border checkpoint, introducing a large-capacity transportation method as a part of the efforts to decentralize Ulaanbaatar city and reduce traffic congestion, and constructing a highway around Ulaanbaatar city.

Deputy Chairman of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Ning Jizhe noted that the projects align with the works to be carried out for the Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor program as well as the Mongolia-China cooperation framework for the mineral, energy, and infrastructure sector and the Belt and Road Initiative, and expressed willingness to support the projects by studying opportunities to jointly implement them.

The two sides agreed to organize a meeting between the corresponding organizations in order to ensure preparatory works and make progress on the projects.