Today, the National Statistics Office of Mongolia introduced socioeconomic situation for December, 2021.

According to the NSO, 691.5 million pieces of securities worth MNT 1.2 trillion were traded at the national stock market in 2021, increased by MNT 1.1 trillion (21.7 times more) and 338.3 million pieces of securities (95.8 percent) compared to the same period of the previous year.

In December 2021, total sales of stocks reached MNT 31.8 billion, increased by MNT 3.1 billion (10.6 percent) from the previous month. The number of pieces of traded securities reached 12.5 million, decreased by 125.5 million pieces (90.9 percent) from the previous month.

In December 2021, the average of indices of the top 20 financial markets was 41668.8 units, increased by 2289.4 units from the previous month and increased by 23542.7 units from the same period of 2020.

In December 2021, the total value of joint-stock companies operating at stock markets reached MNT 6.0 trillion, increased by MNT 737.0 billion (14.1 percent) from the previous month, and increased by MNT 3.0 trillion (97.5 percent) from the same period of the previous year

At an irregular meeting of the Cabinet today on January 17, certain measures were taken against officials that were deemed to have an irresponsible approach to their respective duties.

Minister of Environment and Tourism N.Urtnasan, Deputy Minister Ts.Batbayar, and the minister’s State Secretary D.Ganbold have been dismissed.

Furthermore, Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar D.Sumiyabazar has been tasked to take appropriate measures to have capital city officials and specialists in charge of air and environment pollution held responsible. Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry Z.Mendsaikhan will be temporarily in charge of the activities of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

Mongolia’s judo lightweight M.Urantsetseg announced her retirement in judo and will be focusing on a career in Mixed Martial Arts. 31 year-old judoka became World Champion 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. M.Urantsetseg competed three times at the Olympic Games in 2012 when she finished seventh, in Rio 2016 when she just missed out on the medal and last year in Tokyo where she secured the bronze medal for het country Mongolia.

In 2017, M.Urantsetseg became World silver medallist in 2017 in Budapest and she claimed the bronze in 2019 in Tokyo and 2021 in Budapest. The Mongolian lightweight won the Masters four times in a row (2013-2017) and won the gold at the the Grand Slam in Paris. Also she captured gold at the Grand Slam in Tokyo. In total she claimed 46 World Cup medals including 40 in the IJF World Tour which makes M.Urantsetseg all time top scorer.

In her last year she won the Grand Slams in Tashkent and Tbilisi and took bronze at the World Championships and Olympic Games, in fact one of her best years. She fought more than 300 international contests and we saw her debut at the Junior worlds in Bangkok in 2008.

She fought many matches against Asian opponents such as Jeon Bo-Kyeong (KOR) and her former teammate G.Otgontsetseg who fights for Kazakhstan now. Also she fought with many Japanese opponents such as Haruna Asami, Funa Tonaki and Ami Kondo.

At the Olympic Games she won her last contest in judo against Catarina Costa after a career of 16 years. She promised to take the UFC belt soon. In 2010, she was Sambo World Champion.

Mongolia reported 1,676 new daily cases of coronavirus infection, the Ministry of Health said on Monday.

1,083 were confirmed in Ulaanbaatar, 590 cases in regions.

The total number of cases has increased to 410,542.

1 death linked to the coronavirus was recorded per day bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 2,013.

Mr. Tsengeg Mijiddorj, Ambassador of Mongolia to the Republic of Austria and Ms. Mary-Ann Hayes, Head of Structures Trade and Export Finance, UniCredit Bank as well as Mr. Georg Karner, Director for Structured Trade and Export Finance, UniCredit Bank, signed the Export Credit Agreement for the ‘Upgrading of Medical Equipment at the National Cancer Center; Cancer Navigation and Stereotactic Radiotherapy Center Project’ with a value of 7 million Euros on January 13, 2022 in Vienna.

The project will be implemented within the framework of the Financial Cooperation Agreement signed between the Government of Mongolia and the Government of the Republic of Austria.

The project will be implemented by Austrian company VAMED and will establish a neuro-oncology center of navigation surgery and stereotactic treatment at the National Cancer Center in order to provide comprehensive, modern diagnostic and treatment for patients with brain and spinal tumor and to develop brain cancer care services in Mongolia to international level.

Source: Embassy of Mongolia in Vienna

On January 14, Deputy Prime Minister S.Amarsaikhan presented a bill to Speaker G.Zandanshatar on a resolution for establishing a Free Economic Zone at Khushig Valley.

With an area of 1,000 hectares in the territory of Sergelen soum, Tuv aimag, the Free Economic Zone will be based around the new Chinggis Khaan International Airport.

By establishing the Khushig Valley Free Economic Zone:

• A specialized zone will be established for tourism, business, and financial operations through production and services, such as tourism services focusing on nomadic culture, betting games and associated services, cultural and creative industry, trades, and international bank and financing services,

• A zone will be created for export-oriented production and innovation based on science, advanced technology, and artificial intelligence,

• Opportunities will be created for the country to become ‘Transit Mongolia’ by utilizing the geographical advantage of being located between Asia and Europe in facilitating trade and transportation and creating more favorable conditions for investment.

In a traditionally patriarchic sectors – such as the military, police, and security forces – women around the world have faced political, social, and cultural barriers for centuries. Since the 1950s, the United Nations’ operations have led and promoted the inclusion of women in global missions. However, to this day, the number of women in higher ranks and leadership positions remains disappointingly low. The experience of Mongolian female peacekeepers can exemplify these global shortcomings.

Throughout history, women from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds have served as shieldmaidens, wartime strategists, and behind-the-curtain contributors in making modern history. Unfortunately, in modern times, women’s roles when serving the armed forces were switched to support functions, such as nursing, cooking, caregiving, and administration. These roles, in turn, prevent women from receiving promotions, blocking them from advancing in career and rank due to their lack of experience in other fields within the security sector.

In 1957, female peacekeepers were introduced in the U.N. However, from 1957 to 1979, there were only five women out of a total of 6,250 soldiers. From 1980 to 1989, the number increased to 15 women out of approximately 13,750 military personnel, and these women “served mainly as nurses in medical units.” The early 2000s showed consistent growth of women soldiers, bringing the numbers to 1,034 women out of 71,673 soldiers in 2007, finally breaking the 1 percent mark. As of 2020, the U.N. reports that “out of approximately 95,000 peacekeepers, women constitute 4.8% of military contingents,” and has set a goal to increase that to 15 percent by 2028.

The end of the Cold War promoted a new era of U.N. involvement in global and regional peace and security efforts. Many countries began to participate in these efforts, and so did women.

The UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) was created in 1992. Two years later in 1994, the General Assembly set a goal to reach gender parity – 50 percent men and 50 percent women – in peacekeeping operations by 2000. To implement this goal into the U.N. missions, the secretary-general extended the goal to all “field mission and mission replacements posts” in 1995. On the U.N.’s part, there has been a consistent push for the inclusion of women in peacekeeping missions. In order to accelerate this goal, in 2000, the U.N.’s commitment to gender equality was reinforced with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325). This was the first time the UNSC discussed and promoted women’s participation in promoting peace and security.

Since the UNSC resolution 1325, DPKO has called on member states to “double the number of female service uniformed peacekeepers every year for the next few years.” A year later, in January 2007, the First All-Female Police Unit (FFPU) from India was sent to Liberia. The FFPU played a significant role in security in Liberia, and their presence encouraged Liberian women to join the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the national police force. India’s mission to Liberia became a role model for women worldwide who serve in the military and security forces, including Mongolia.

Even though Mongolia joined the U.N. in 1961, it was not until 1996 that Mongolia expressed an interest in contributing to U.N. peacekeeping operations. In 1999, Mongolia and the U.N. signed a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Contributions to the United Nations Standby Arrangements. In 2002, Mongolia adopted a “Law on participation of Military and Police personnel in the United Nations peacekeeping operations and other international operations” and began sending military observers to U.N. peacekeeping missions.

Since joining the U.N peacekeeping operations, Mongolia has successfully pushed forward a foreign policy aimed at developing the state’s military capacity through multilateral cooperation in international military operations. Since 2002, Mongolia has deployed more than 19,000 peacekeepers to the U.N. peacekeeping operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Chad, Sudan, West Sahara, Congo, Ethiopia, and Georgia. Moreover, Mongolian military observers are working in Congo, West Sahara, and South Sudan. As of August 2021, Mongolia ranked 24th among 117 U.N. troop-contributing countries and had sent 62 female and 824 male soldiers to U.N. operations.

The first female soldier from Mongolia joined a U.N. peacekeeping mission in 2006, as an unarmed military observer to the U.N. Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. Two years later, in 2008, Mongolia sent the first six female peacekeepers with the military contingent in Sierra Leone. In 2010, the first female Staff Officer was stationed in the mission Force Head Quarter (FHQ) MINURCAT Chad, the Central African Republic.

In 2013, Bolor Ganbold (one of the authors of this piece) served as the first female Section Head (Chief J6) in the FHQ in UNMISS, South Sudan. After serving in UNMISS, she was the first woman to be deployed as a Peacekeeping Affairs Officer in U.N. headquarters in New York. The same year, Mongolia deployed the first female contingent Commander of Level II hospital to the UMAMID in Sudan. The following years saw an increase in Mongolian female participation in global forces such as in Sudan. In 2019, the first female troops from Mongolia also participated as a member of the German Joint Forces, who took part in Operation Enduring Support in NATO in Afghanistan.

As of 2021, more than 900 Mongolian women have served as military observers, staff officers, and military contingent members in both U.N. peacekeeping operations and NATO coalition forces. The successful deployment and the completion of their missions has a significant influence and promotes women’s participation in the military and the security forces. These accomplishments must be recognized at an international level.

As the next step, female peacekeepers should be considered for senior-level posts within the U.N., not only as contingent members. However, several challenges prevent women from accelerating into higher-level positions or posts within U.N. peacekeeping operations.

In U.N. peacekeeping missions, most women serve as doctors, nurses, cooks, laundry staff, or administrators. In interviews conducted by Bolor Ganbold, for example, female Mongolian peacekeepers expressed that there are many levels of barriers that prevent them from fully reaching their potential as peacekeepers.

For example, one of the significant problems experienced by female peacekeepers across the board, but especially in military contingents, was that they could not leave the compound to interact with locals. Having access to the local communities is particularly important to the roles envisioned for female peacekeepers, but in practice it is impossible to inspire, assist, and engage with the local community of women from the compound.

Education and training gaps – including on language study – are another issue. Mongolian female peacekeepers do not have the opportunity to study at the Mongolian Army Command Staff College before being selected and deployed, and this lack of access is a significant hurdle that blocks their career path as a whole. More female Mongolian Army Command Staff College officers should qualify for special education and specific training. In that case, the female soldiers will have a chance to hold senior positions in the Mongolian Armed Forces and peacekeeping operations abroad. Therefore, it is crucial for the government to invest in female soldiers, training both key officers and non-commissioned officers. In the past, only a few female English-speaking officers from Mongolia have had the opportunity to study abroad in the United States, Australia, or India and had a chance to work the selected U.N. missions.

Today the U.N. peacekeeping operations continue to see slow improvement on gender parity. While it is difficult to address the situation within contingent troops, the Office of Military Affairs (OMA) goal is to reach 25 percent women by 2028. To overcome these challenges and find a noticeable solution, critical operations and missions by the U.N. must increase the number of women in senior roles and decision-making posts. Alongside these changes, it would have a direct impact if the U.N. missions were to deploy all-female contingents in global missions and integrate them into mixed-gender environments. Finally, international coalition missions must deploy women ready to bring about substantive changes in the peacekeeping environment.

The challenges ahead concern not only Mongolian female peacekeepers but also all the women in the world’s armed and security forces who possess strength, knowledge, and dedication to serving. UNSCR 1325 is quite explicit in urging the secretary-general to seek to expand the role and contribution of women in United Nations field-based operations, especially among military observers, civilian police, human rights, and humanitarian personnel. From a military perspective, increasing women’s contribution strengthens both the U.N. missions and the serving country and their female population immensely.

AUTHORS

Bolor Lkhaajav

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

Bolor Ganbold

Col. Bolor Ganbold has previously served in U.N. peacekeeping missions. She is currently serving as the dean of the National Defense University of Mongolia.

Through a castling move in cabinet and a presidential election, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) solidified its dominance in 2021. Persistently high COVID-19 infections finally began to wane late in the year, just as an offer from RioTinto arrived to potentially conclude a (re)new(ed) agreement to jumpstart the underground construction at the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.

Ahead of the June presidential election, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh used minor demonstrations against his COVID-19 policies as an excuse to resign as prime minister. In hindsight, it seems clear that this was a strategic decision rather than any contrition about pandemic failures. Khurelsukh was succeeded as prime minister by his cabinet secretary, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene.

This castling reduced the risk to Khurelsukh that he would be closely associated with any deterioration of the COVID-19 situation and seems to have enabled his resounding victory in the 9 June presidential election.

The run-up to the election brought some democratic fireworks that seem to be turning into a worrisome pattern in Mongolia — someone or some political event crosses a line that raises fundamental doubts about the stability of democracy. In this case, it was claimed by then-president Khaltmaagiin Battulga in April that the country was heading toward one-party rule. Having watched an MPP-dominated parliament with an MPP president, so far, it seems those fears were unfounded and may have said more about Battulga’s reluctance to cede the presidency.

Perhaps of greater concern were shenanigans surrounding fratricidal turmoil in the Democratic Party. A lack of clarity about the legitimate leadership led to a battle over the nomination of a presidential candidate. This delayed the nomination and thus the party’s ability to campaign effectively.

Still, this challenge was largely of the party’s own doing and the result of uncertainty around whether Battulga would be allowed to run for re-election under the 2019 constitutional amendments that limited the presidency to a single term. In the end, the party’s nominee, Sodnomzundi Erdene received the support of less than 7 per cent of voters.

Politically, the most interesting aspect of the presidential election was perhaps the result achieved by Dangaasuren Enkhbat, nominated by the upstart National Labour Party. A tech and social entrepreneur who was a member of parliament from 2008–12, Enkhbat gathered over 20 per cent of the votes. While some dismissed him as a candidate only for urban elites, he received some support across the country, and votes far beyond a small professional class in city districts.

While this suggests some momentum and the possibility of the National Labour Party supplanting the Democratic Party in the long run, the party’s candidate did not come close to winning a majority in parliamentary by-elections in October.

Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene was confirmed as MPP party chair in December and seems firmly focused on his Vision 2050 agenda for comprehensive development and e-government agendas. In the revision of National Determined Contributions ahead of COP26, there emerged a more pointed realisation of the need for more political and regulatory attention to be paid to the climate change emergency. Discussions about the foreseeable end to the coal mining industry have at least begun.

COVID-19 infections continued to drag the economy down, though at least industrial mining was able to resume. The extremely cautious Chinese regime at Mongolia’s border closed the country several times, leading to spikes in prices of consumer goods and some slowdowns in mineral exports, but these were temporary, as was a fuel shortage in late summer. Inflation and persistent poverty remain significant challenges for fiscal and economic policy.

The darkest cloud over Mongolia’s economy has been dissatisfaction with the agreements signed with RioTinto over the giant Oyu Tolgoi mine. An offer in December to write off government debt stemming from a 34 per cent equity stake in the project seemed to receive an enthusiastic welcome from the MPP and suggests that negotiations might progress at pace.

Like much of the world, Mongolia is watching closely to see whether the US–China rivalry develops into a bipolar situation that would leave the country at risk of being forced to pick sides between its instinctive affinity with democracies and its total economic dependence on China. Fortunately, President Khurelsukh has indicated his focus on international relations through his attendance at the UN General Assembly, suggesting that this area of policy-making that had languished under Battulga will receive significant attention. One option is for Mongolia to tilt even further toward the UN, something that a proposed peacekeeping training centre might accomplish.

Given the political constellation of an MPP president and prime minister, and settled party leadership, 2022 is likely to be a politically calm year that might lead to some implementation of the many development plans the Vision 2050 foresees, especially if a reconfirmed agreement for the Oyu Tolgoi mine makes long-term fiscal prospects more secure. COVID-19 will continue to threaten Mongolia’s economic development, challenging the recovery of its tourism industry, but possibly also spurring further growth in agricultural production.

BY: Julian Dierkes is Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. He is one of the principal authors of the Mongolia Focus blog.

This article is part of an EAF special feature series on 2021 in review and the year ahead.

‘Boldtumur Eruu River’ LLC is building the Altan shireet Industrial and Technology Park in Altanshiree soum of Dornogobi aimag between 2019 and 2025.

A factory with an annual capacity of 500 thousand tons of cast iron and other plants including iron ore wet processing, coal washing, coking coal and iron ore pellet plants, under construction on a 140 ha area, will be put into operation in 2025.

Moreover, the construction of a wet processing iron ore plant with an annual capacity of 2 million tons was launched in 2019 and the facility was put into operation after a trial in September 2021.

Highly competitive, value-added new export products are expected to be produced at Altan shireet industrial and technology park. Moreover, the raw iron ore export can be decreased as a result of local processing of iron ore, report the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry.

World Bank initially projected Mongolia's economic growth to expand by 3.5 percent in 2021. However, it lowered the forecast by 2.4 percentage in its previous forecast released in June, 2021. It was noted that the rising inflation rate put significant pressure on the country’s economy in addition to the risks of new variants of COVID-19 and external debt.

Inflation has reached the highest level since 2011 in most developing countries with external debts putting pressure at the same time. World Bank analysts also point out that commodity price fluctuations are an obstacle for countries that depend on commodity exports. In addition, income inequality is deepening around the world, and access to vaccines varies.

As for this year's outlook, Mongolia's economy is projected to grow by 2.1 percent in 2022 and 6.2 percent in 2023.