Mongolian surgeons operated on two children from Kyrgyzstan for free. Press center of the Ministry of Health reported.

According to it, Dastan and Bilal’s heart surgeries were performed at a clinic in Ulaanbaatar. All expenses were covered by the Mongolian side. The boys returned home the day before.

«We arrived in Mongolia on February 20, and already on February 21 doctors operated Bilal, on February 22 — my son Dastan. A week later they were discharged from the hospital, but the children continued to be observed by doctors. The children are doing very well now. We were paid for the flight, food, accommodation and the operation itself, everything was absolutely free. I am very grateful to the Mongolian doctors,» mother of one of the boys, Gulzat Toktomusheva, told.

The children were selected for the operation in Mongolia by the specialists of the Research Institute of Heart Surgery and Organ Transplantation of Kyrgyzstan. Both patients had one of the most common congenital heart defects — an atrial septal defect.

«The operations were successful. Special long-term rehabilitation is not needed for children with such a heart disease. They will be completely healthy in 2-3 months. Mongolian doctors are planning to perform several more such operations. The Research Institute of Heart Surgery and Organ Transplantation is working on further cooperation,» the Minister of Health Alymkadyr Beishenaliev, who met the boys at the Bishkek airport, said.

The Ministry of Health added that Mongolian doctors from the National Center for Organ Transplantation and Cardiovascular Surgery were in Kyrgyzstan from February 2 to February 7. As part of their cooperation, they conducted examinations and consultations for children from low-income families. A joint operation of two children was also performed with the surgeons of the Research Institute of Heart Surgery and Organ Transplantation in Bishkek.

On March 4, a project on ‘Integrated production system for sustainable cashmere – II’ implemented by AVSF Mongolia NGO held its next round Steering Committee meeting to present the achievements of the action and to introduce plans to upgrade the initiative nationally.

As of 2022, the project is working with seven cooperatives in Bayankhongor aimag to support and engage herders to adopt sustainable practices and adopt the Sustainable cashmere certification. According to the project team, as a result of project interventions 4500 are composed into Pasture Users’ Groups and as of 2022, 440 households have obtained SC Certification. The certified households, with the support from the Sustainable Cashmere Union, supply over 50 tons of raw sustainable cashmere to around 10 international buyers at a value-added price within the last six years. Moreover, as a result of project support within the last six years the annual turnover of beneficiary cooperatives increased by five times from MNT42 million.

SC Certification is a proof document that certifies that herders and their organizations prepare and supply cashmere in an environmentally-friendly, socially responsible and economically viable way. This includes sustainable management of pastoral resources, improved herding practices, democratic and transparent governance of their organizations, or strengthened capacities to manage cashmere quality and support traceability claims.

The project is synergetic with other AVSF initiatives aiming at empowering women as actor of change for rural economic development, or at supporting the development of sustainable textile sector in Mongolia with all value chain stakeholders as well as relevant authorities and business intermediaries. It is a model that was initiated by AVSF Mongolia in 2013 to help promoting an integrated approach encompassing all steps of sustainable cashmere value chain development, from production to consumption, considered as necessary to induce systemic change.

In the coming years, the team is planning to expand its intervention to promote sustainable cashmere in several soums of Arkhangai and Khentii aimags and to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Sustainable Cashmere Union and its member cooperatives.

Source: AVSF Mongolia

A regular meeting of the capital city authorities was held on March 7. In accordance with the fire that broke out recently in the capital city, The Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar D.Sumiyabazar reminded the relevant officials to pay attention to the quality and safety of the constructions in the city. Officials were also instructed to take concrete measures to prevent forest and steppe fires.

The tender evaluation rate in the capital city is 61.7 percent

The Capital City Governor instructed to ensure the implementation of his ordinance issued in intensifying investment activities and to oversee the implementation. As of March 4, 2022, there are 393 projects to be implemented in the capital city with the state and capital city budget, local development funds, and other sources.

Procurement of 386 projects and activities was announced by 81 orders issued by the Capital City Governor, 253 projects and activities were procured, and 109 projects and activities were not procured. The tender evaluation rate in the capital city is 61.7 percent.

Influenza and influenza-like illnesses are more common among children

Head of the Health Department of the Capital City B.Byambadorj introduced the current situation of the coronavirus. He said "An average of 300 to 500 people being infected with coronavirus every day. Influenza and influenza-like illnesses are on the rising among children. Therefore, we are cooperating with the Ministry of Health to regulate the balanced workload”.

26,447 children were additionally enrolled in kindergartens

Ulaanbaatar Mayor clarified children’s education backwardness and learning methods, and how they plan to improve the education sector due to the two-year quarantine. Head of Education Department of the Capital City J.Gantulga highlighted that the attendance of the capital city's secondary schools last week was 96.1 percent. The Minister of Education and Science has issued an order to eliminate the delays and is implementing it. Additional kindergarten enrollment was organized and 26,447 children enrolled, and the pre-school enrollment rate was 78 percent. During the 14 days of the change in the start time of 59 schools, traffic congestion was disrupted at 08:00 in the morning”

There are 340 trade areas in public space

The Governor of the Capital City instructed relevant officials to determine trade areas in public space and to develop a landscaping assignment. M.Shijirbayar, Deputy Director of the Urban Development Department of the Capital City said "340 trade areas and services have been determined in nine districts of the capital city.

Rules of the Capital of Ulaanbaatar is being developed

G.Batzorig, Head of the Land Management Department of the capital city said “We have included 74 development projects in our plan to resolve the issue of land allocation and issue land certificates and conclude contracts within the framework of the Capital City Governor's Order on Intensifying Investment Work. Of these, 31 are roads, 22 are school and kindergarten buildings, eight are engineering networks, and 13 are other works. Senior Adviser in charge of Administration and Legal Affairs of the Capital City Governor D.Munkh-Erdene said “There is a working group on the city rules. The first draft will be presented at a regular meeting in March”

Demolition of 4860 garages planned

Head of the Land Management Department of the Capital City G.Batzorig introduced the demolition process of fences and garages. 457 violations are planned to be eliminated at 63 locations in the Baga Toiruu area. Land acquisition will begin on March 15”

Following instructions were given to the city officials:

-To improve control and timely manner of investment projects and activities to be implemented in 2022 with the state and capital city budgets, local development funds, and other sources.

-To inform citizens about the new electricity, heating, and sewerage networks and landscaping and construction works being invested and constructed this year.

-To monitor the safety of school and kindergarten gymnasiums and playground equipment, and to organize activities to prevent injuries to children;

-To prohibit the use of sharp, sharp-edged, or unsafe tools and equipment that may cause injury to children, and, if necessary, install a barrier, guard, and appoint a supervisor.

-To take necessary measures to prevent children from being involved in road and traffic accidents in kindergartens, schools, and public streets and roads.

-To ensure unimpeded access to public transport on the first lane of the road, to impose a fine to drivers who block bus stops, and deduct points for violating the traffic rules.

-To paint road signs and markings in the territory of the capital city, to construct dams, storm water drainage networks, ravines, public land waste, and snow removal.

-Under the Capital City Governor's Order No. A / 1008 “On Establishment of a Working Group” for 2021, the relevant officials were instructed to develop the Capital City Charter following the law and introduce it to the regular meeting of the capital city officials.

CAPITAL CITY TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY

Gold extended its biggest weekly advance since July 2020 amid reports of the US and its allies contemplating an embargo of Russian oil, raising concerns about higher inflation and slowing economic growth.

However, the metal eased back after a spokesperson for the German government said it was against entering into the next sanctions spiral, possibly signaling disunity when it comes to the oil ban. The US is considering whether to act without help from its allies in Europe, according to Bloomberg sources.

Spot gold was up 0.3% by noon ET, trading at $1,982.16 an ounce after surpassing the $2,000 level for the first time in 18 months. US gold futures gained 0.8% to $1,982.60 an ounce.

Meanwhile, benchmark real Treasury yields have fallen deeper into negative territory in recent weeks, as expectations for higher inflation and lower growth are priced in, making non-interest bearing gold more attractive.

The precious metal has rallied even as the dollar rose to the highest since July 2020, a sign of its investment appeal as a haven.

Any escalation of the war “could push the world economy toward a stagflation scenario, which we see as very bullish for gold,” Carsten Menke, head of next generation research at Julius Baer Group, wrote in a Bloomberg note.

“Investors who see the potential for worsening could seek some protection in gold, but need to be aware that prices will likely retreat if their assumption does not hold true,” Menke added.

Investors in both exchange-traded funds and futures are now upping their bullish bets. Inflows into ETFs last week took holdings to the most in almost a year, while the net-long position of hedge funds trading the Comex are now the highest since August 2020.

(With files from Bloomberg)

The war in Ukraine will deliver a shock to the global supply and cost of food, the boss of one of the world's biggest fertiliser companies has said.

Yara International, which operates in more than 60 countries, buys considerable amounts of essential raw materials from Russia.

Fertiliser prices were already high due to soaring wholesale gas prices.

Yara's boss, Svein Tore Holsether, has warned the situation could get even tougher.

"Things are changing by the hour," he told the BBC.

"We were already in a difficult situation before the war... and now it's additional disruption to the supply chains and we're getting close to the most important part of this season for the Northern hemisphere, where a lot of fertiliser needs to move on and that will quite likely be impacted."

Russia and Ukraine are some of the biggest producers in agriculture and food globally.

Russia also produces enormous amounts of nutrients, like potash and phosphate - key ingredients in fertilisers, which enable plants and crops to grow.

"Half the world's population gets food as a result of fertilisers... and if that's removed from the field for some crops, [the yield] will drop by 50%," Mr Holsether said.

"For me, it's not whether we are moving into a global food crisis - it's how large the crisis will be."

His company has already been affected by the conflict after a missile hit Yara's office in Kyiv. The 11 staff were unharmed.

The Norwegian-based company isn't directly affected by sanctions against Russia, but is having to deal with the fall-out. Trying to secure deliveries has become more difficult due to disruption in the shipping industry.

Just hours after Mr Holsether spoke to the BBC, the Russian government urged its producers to halt fertiliser exports.

He pointed out that about a quarter of the key nutrients used in European food production come from Russia.

"At the same time we're doing whatever we can do at the moment to also find additional sources. But with such short timelines it's limited," he said before the news emerged.

Analysts have also warned that the move would mean higher costs for farmers and lower crop yields. That could feed through into even higher costs for food.

Huge amounts of natural gas are needed to produce ammonia, the key ingredient in nitrogen fertiliser. Yara International relies on vast quantities of Russian gas for its European plants.

Last year, it was forced to temporarily suspend production of about 40% of its capacity in Europe because of the spike in the price of wholesale gas. Other producers also cut supplies.

Combined with higher shipping rates, sanctions on Belarus (another major potash supplier) and extreme weather - this prompted a big jump in fertiliser prices last year, adding to a surge in food prices.

The company says it's making day-to-day evaluations on how to maintain supply and that it is too early to say if more shutdowns may be on the cards.

It acknowledges it has a "very strong obligation" to keep production running at what it describes as a critical point.

But Yara's boss says the world must, in the long-term, reduce its dependency on Russia for global food production.

"On the one hand, we're trying to keep fertiliser flowing to the farmers to keep up the agricultural yields.

"At the same time... there has to be a strong reaction. We condemn the Russian military invasion of Ukraine so this is a dilemma and one that frankly is very difficult."

Climate change and growing populations had already been adding to the challenges the global food production system faces - all before the pandemic started.

The Yara International chief executive describes the war as "a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe", highlighting just how vulnerable to shocks the global food supply chain now is.

It will increase food insecurity in poorer countries, he adds.

"We have to keep in mind that in the last two years, there's been an increase of 100 million more people that go to bed hungry... so for this to come on top of it is really worrying."

The Government of Mongolia recently made a decision to establish the Foreign Investment Agency. By establishing the agency, policy and planning as well as investors will be connected with large-scale construction projects and other sectors. Furthermore, the rights and legal interests of investors will be more protected. The agency will be in charge of stabilizing the investment environment and provide investors with support and services, highlighted Deputy Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs B.Solongoo during a discussion that took place at the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI).

Co-organized by the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs and the MNCCI under the topic, ‘Pressing issues in the legal environment for investment, and necessity for reform’, the discussion was attended by officials of the newly established Ministry of Economy and Development, the General Authority for State Registration, and the Immigration Agency of Mongolia, and representatives of organizations such as the World Bank and the Business Council of Mongolia.

Informing that a working group has been established at the ministry to amend the Law on Investment, Deputy Minister B.Solongoo stressed the importance of clearly defining the legal environment for foreign investors to run businesses in Mongolia and have fair, mutually beneficial partnerships with domestic entities. She then highlighted the necessity to appropriately define the country’s foreign investment policy and ensure its stable implementation.

As for representatives of entities and businesses, they informed the Deputy Minister about how certain regulations of laws have yet to be implemented due to the lack of correlation with other laws, and noted the necessity of ensuring their implementation.

The business owners agreed with the government officials about how it has become necessary to resolve the pressing issues of the country’s legal environment on investment.

During the discussion, the participants also discussed looking at the issue on a wider scale by taking other corresponding laws into account, and increasing investment in sectors other than mining. In particular, investment in sectors such as IT, transport and logistics, and energy should be promoted alongside creating correlation between policy and legislation through the approval of the unified policy on foreign investment, they noted.

Suggestions were also put forth concerning issues such as foreign workers quota, issuance of visas and residence permits, active promotional works aimed at foreign investors, and facilitation of the process to register an entity with foreign investment.

Mongolian cardiac surgeons operated two kids from Kyrgyzstan in Ulaanbaatar on February 21-22.

Children returned home yesterday. They were met upon arrival in airport by Health Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliev. All expenses were covered by Mongolian side.

"We arrived in Mongolia on February 20. Bilal was operated on February 21. My son Dastan was operated on February 22. They were discharged from hospital in a week, but children remain under medical observation. They feel well. Airfare, meals, accommodation, surgeries were covered by the Mongolian side. All that was free for us. I am grateful to Mongolian doctors," Gulzat Toktomusheva, mother of one of the operated boys, said.

The kids were selected by the National Cardiac Surgery and Organ Transplantation Research Institute. Both of them had one of the most common congenital heart defects - atrial septal defect.

"The surgeries were successful. Children with such heart defect do not need a long rehabilitation. They will be absolutely healthy in 2-3 months. Mongolian surgeons plan to make several more similar operations. The National Cardiac Surgery and Organ Transplantation Research Institute works on other cooperation projects," Health Minister Beishenaliev said.

The Mongolian surgeons from the National Organ Transplantation and Cardiovascular Surgery Center visited Kyrgyzstan from February 2-7. They examined children from poor families. Two children were operated by them in Bishkek together with surgeons of the Kyrgyz Cardiac Surgery and Organ Transplantation Research Institute.

Last year, Mongolia’s officials confidently promised a “COVID-free summer”; however, the plan has failed.

On 14 February, 2022, Mongolian Government scrapped almost all remaining Covid-19 restrictions, but keeping face mask, hand sanitizing and the one-metre rules. Majority of measures that have been in place for almost three years are now lifted.

And as we begin to finally inch past the Omicron winter surge that infected hundreds in the past few months, many Mongolians are looking forward to the promise of a post-pandemic summer, free from mask mandates and social distancing.

COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Mongolia, with 200-400 new infections reported on average each day. There is 9% of the peak at the highest daily average reported on September 7, 2021.

There have been 465,326 infections and 2,173 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.

The Law on Virtual Asset Service Provider and accompanying laws (adopted on December 17, 2021) were published in №6 of the Government Information bulletin on February 14, 2022. The above-mentioned laws entered into force from March 1, 2022 according to Paragraph 26.3 of the Constitution of Mongolia.

Accordingly, legal entities shall not provide virtual asset services without registering with the Financial Regulatory Commission of Mongolia. Please note that legal entities that are not registered as virtual asset service providers by the FRC, shall be subject to liabilities specified in related laws, if they offer virtual assets to the public, organize trading activities, participate in financial activities, and/or provide services.

Please click the links below to see the details.

The Law on Virtual Asset Provider

Amendments to the accompanying laws

Source: Financial Regulatory Commission

Recently, a heated discussion took place at the Tuushin Hotel with members of parliament, some ministers, the public, and almost all media outlets under the slogan "They should pay the debt themselves - let's unite and demand payments" in connection with the Development Bank's (DB) non-performing loans. The discussion, which was broadcast live on many TV channels and social networks across the country, has exacerbated public frustration and caused a wave of protests within the Mongolian society.

The issue of non-performing loans given by the DB has had a considerable amount of media coverage before. A year and a half ago, I also wrote on the issue that this bank technically went "bankrupt." The public now needs to be informed well on why this problem is finally in the spotlight now and what the solutions are.

The reason is the escalation of the DB loan problem to a level where the ruling MPP leaders cannot solve it alone, requiring some public support.

The fact that more than half of the loans issued by the DB fall under the category of non-performing loans is a clear sign of how entangled the Government of Mongolia has become with decades-long corruption and that the legislative system benefits corrupt officials and oligarchs.

To demand payment of the loans, by all means, is crucial to fight against organized political-economic gangs, which are backed by power, money, and judiciary protection.

If the DB fails to pay its bond payments of almost 1 billion dollars next year, the government will not be able to pay it even in the case of a bailout. There is not much money because the government has exhausted all its resources when spending the equivalent of its full-year budget to fight the pandemic and revive the economy.

Fortunately, the authorities seem to have understood that Mongolia is on the brink of bankruptcy if it does not eliminate corruption, regardless of the DB issue. With rampant corruption, the risk of losing the 2024 election is high for the MPP.

The DB drama goes as follows:

The beginning

The Development Bank of Mongolia was established in 2011 to finance development projects with long-term financing, particularly infrastructure and export promotion programs, as seen in many other countries. A highly experienced Korean DB management team was invited to work in its initial phase. Issuing bonds abroad has raised 600 million dollars. Then on August 10, 2012, N. Altankhuyag's government was formed, and the Ministry of Economy was established with B. Batbayar as its Minister. The government soon issued its first foreign bond (Chinggis), raising 1.5 billion dollars. Suddenly, the government, which had its hands on a lot of money, rescinded their agreement with the Koreans, who were making rules and regulations a subject of discussion, which prevented them from using the funds as they pleased.

That is how the foreign debt history of democratic Mongolia began. Mongolia has not paid any of the debt during the last decade. Instead, it only resorted to new loans to pay its previous debts. Even the then Prime Minister openly said that the next generation would pay the debt. Since then, the successive governments have put their people in leadership positions of the DB and have issued billions of tugriks in loans for their benefit. Mongolian authorities demonstrated that nobody bears responsibility for state funds.

The plot

Half of the loans provided by the DB, which saw six governments and six directors, are now non-performing loans. The failure to receive loan repayments and the absence of a contingency fund is no surprise when the underlying situation of unstable governance and loans linked to politicians are taken into account.

Currently, out of the loans provided to 66 legal entities, 14 are normal, 10 are likely to deteriorate, and 42 are non-performing. Out of 2.6 trillion tugriks in loans, 1.8 trillion was classified as non-performing. Of the 42 borrowers with non-performing loans, 30 were taken to the courts, 22 are at first instance court, two were on appeal, and six were acquitted. The back and forth process takes almost five years.

The amendment to the law on the DB in February of 2017 allowed the DB to make decisions on its own, whereas the loans had to be approved by the parliament previously. Moreover, the board received the power to dictate the procedure to issue loans. Illegal activities to conspire and embezzle public funds were thus legalized.

There is no system in place to investigate, correct, or hold accountable politically motivated criminal activities, such as misappropriation of loans, money laundering through banks and NBFCs, and release of collateral.

It has become the norm to take a low-interest loan and then take it to court for various reasons to halt the interest rate and keep the money at a high-interest rate in commercial banks for several years during the court proceedings. Recently, it was uncovered that even the four largest commercial banks in Mongolia borrowed from the DB and used the money to further lend at high-interest rates. The DB management bought two floors of the new TDB building for 27 billion tugriks, which is many times the market price. It is said that the entire building was built at the cost of 25 billion tugriks.

It is not that the government was unaware of all this, but the leaders and officials of the two ruling parties have been keeping each other's secrets and working hand in hand with each other. Various members of the Parliament and the Government have been the main actors in this DB drama.

Recently, however, MPP leaders announced that they would hold their party members accountable for their ethical misconduct in connection with the DB, suspend their membership, and bar them if found guilty by the court. A mere announcement is different from actual implementation. It is doubtful that the oligarchs of the two parties, possessing wealth and power over the media, will be defeated.

After the Lunar New Year, the Mongolian government unveiled that the Development Bank has become a significant obstacle to our development.

The ending

Banks in a similar situation as the DB end up liquidated or restructured. The Prime Minister has said that the DB will not be liquidated or bankrupt. Instead, he stated, it would be turned into the Exim Bank to promote increased exports and substituted imports. Therefore, it means that there will be restructuring and restarting. There are three ways to do so:

1). Sorting the non-performing loans and establishing an asset management corporation,

2). Selling the collateral properties of non-performing loans and ensuring repayment,

3). Exponentially increasing the bank's assets and paying bad loans. In the case of the first and third methods, the owner of the DBM - the Mongolian government does not have the budget capacity to allocate such funds. As for Mongolian commercial banks, they lack capital. The Bank of Mongolia is restricted from conducting fiscal activities. The only way left is to sell the collateral as soon as possible.

However, the judiciary system is weak in Mongolia. Moreover, there are almost no experts available for disputes over the release and sale of real estate. Even if there are, they are linked too closely with politicians. Income and assets declarations show that members of parliament, government officials, the judiciary, and law enforcement servants earn much higher than the average population.

Regardless of the recovery or renaming of the DB, this drama will repeat itself if the leading cause of the bankruptcy is not cleared. The root cause is corruption, and the DB is only an example.

The primary reason for Mongolia being in this situation is the so-called state properties that nobody owns. It is impossible to change the system of corruption without turning all state-owned enterprises into joint-stock companies with specific owners. The right to manage state property is handed over to a political party through democratic elections. Since the political parties are not institutionalized, no one bears the responsibility for state properties in Mongolia.

What's more, public funds have been embezzled through unfeasible projects such as the Price Stabilization Program. Immunity and legal protection are granted once elected as parliament members. There is also a common practice of dismissing a case due to the expiry of the statute of limitations. After severe money laundering cases, they are usually forgiven in the name of tax forgiveness.

Only by changing and fixing all this can we get rid of corruption. Strong public participation and demands are essential. It has been forgotten at all levels of society that democracy is at the intersection between freedom and responsibility. Only a country where citizens are aware of their duty to actively fight to keep the government free of corruption will prosper.

Are we Mongolians going to keep allowing a few thieves to steal the money from the DB and SME Fund?