1 14TH MBD MISSION FOR MBCC'S "DOING BUSINESS WITH MONGOLIA SEMINAR & CHRISTMAS RECEPTION" AND BUSINESS PROGRAM DEC 08- 14. 2025 LONDON, UK WWW.MONGOLIANBUSINESSDATABASE.COM PUBLISHED:2025/09/16      2 IMF WRAPS UP 2025 ARTICLE IV TALKS WITH MONGOLIA WWW.IMF.ORG PUBLISHED:2025/09/16      3 POSCO INTERNATIONAL TO LAUNCH WASTEWATER HEAT DISTRICT HEATING PROJECT IN MONGOLIA WWW.CM.ASIAE.CO.KR  PUBLISHED:2025/09/16      4 MONGOLIA'S EXTERNAL DEBT UP 12.7 PCT IN Q2 2025 WWW.NEWS.AZ PUBLISHED:2025/09/16      5 2025 AUTUMN SESSION OF THE STATE GREAT KHURAL COMMENCES WITH STRUCTURAL REFORMS WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/09/16      6 MONGOLIA SURPASSES 617,000 TOURIST ARRIVALS BY MID-SEPTEMBER 2025 WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/09/16      7 ODD-EVEN TRAFFIC RESTRICTION CONCLUDES WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/09/15      8 MMC ANNOUNCES FIRST GOLD POUR COMPLETED AT THE BAYAN KHUNDII MINE IN MONGOLIA WWW.SG.FINANCE.YAHOO.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/09/15      9 MKE LAUNCHES CARTRIDGE PRODUCTION LINE IN MONGOLIA WWW.RAILLYNEWS.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/09/15      10 MONGOLIA’S LARGEST MINING EVENT HIGHLIGHTS INVESTMENT AND RESPONSIBLE MINING WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/09/14      14 ДЭХЬ УДААГИЙН MBCCI’S “ DOING BUSINESS WITH MONGOLIA SEMINAR & CHRISTMAS RECEPTION” B2B NETWORKING БОЛОН БИЗНЕС ХӨТӨЛБӨР 2025 ОНЫ 12 САРЫН 08 -13 ЛОНДОН ХОТ, ИХ БРИТАНИ WWW.MONGOLIANBUSINESSDATABASE.COM НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/16     ЭДИЙН ЗАСГИЙН ТӨРӨЛЖИЛТИЙН ИНДЕКСЭЭР МОНГОЛ УЛС 145 ОРНООС 139-Д БИЧИГДЖЭЭ WWW.GOGO.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/16     ӨНӨӨДӨР: “СЭЛБЭ 20 МИНУТЫН ХОТ”-ЫН ДАРААГИЙН ЭЭЛЖИЙН ОРОН СУУЦНЫ ТӨСЛИЙН БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫГ ЭХЛҮҮЛНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/16     ШЭНЬ МИНЬЖУАНЬ: БНХАУ МОНГОЛ УЛСЫГ ШХАБ-ЫН ГЭР БҮЛД НЭГДЭЖ, ХАМТЫН АЖИЛЛАГААГАА ӨРГӨЖҮҮЛЭХИЙГ УРЬСАН WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/15     Г.ЗАНДАШАТАР: ТӨРИЙН ДАНХАР БҮТЦИЙГ ХУМИХ АЖИЛ ИРЭХ ОНД Ч ҮРГЭЛЖИЛНЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/15     Ц.ТУВААН: НҮҮРСНИЙ ҮНЭ 3 САР ТУТАМ ШИНЭЧЛЭГДЭНЭ. ГЭРЭЭНД ЯМАР Ч НУУЦ БАЙХГҮЙ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/15     ХАНЫН МАТЕРИАЛД 1800 АЙЛЫН ОРОН СУУЦ БАРИХ ТӨСЛИЙН ГҮЙЦЭТГЭГЧ ШАЛГАРЛАА WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/15     "ТАТВАРЫН ХЭТ ӨНДӨР ТООЦОО БИЗНЕС ЭРХЛЭГЧДИЙГ ХААЛГАА БАРИХАД ХҮРГЭНЭ" WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/15     ГАДААД ХУДАЛДААНЫ НӨХЦӨЛИЙН ИНДЕКС ӨМНӨХ ОНООС 4.1 ХУВИАР БУУРЧЭЭ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/15     ЭХНИЙ НАЙМАН САРЫН БАЙДЛААР 600 МЯНГАН ЖУУЛЧИН ИРЖЭЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/09/15    

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MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

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China plans state-backed platform to buy iron ore www.bloomberg.com

China’s latest bid to wrest control of soaring iron ore prices is a plan to make global suppliers negotiate sales to the world’s biggest market through a centralized platform.
Beijing wants all purchases of the steelmaking material conducted through a single state-backed platform that’s under preparation, according to people familiar with the matter. At the moment, Chinese businesses including steel mills can negotiate spot purchases independently.
The plan aims to stabilize the steelmaking ingredient over the long-term, and is part of a broader focus on boosting China’s influence over the price of commodities, the people said. Iron ore’s spot market is relatively small, but prices there determine how much steel mills pay in long-term contracts.
China churns out more than half the world’s steel, and its iron ore imports last year were worth nearly $180 billion. Its steel industry has long complained at the pricing power it says is held by a handful of giant international mining companies. Authorities are also keen to head off inflation as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures in 2022 that could reboot steel demand.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.
Pushing back
The latest proposals add to a flurry of actions and announcements that last week quashed iron ore’s powerful rally from mid-November. Authorities hosted a series of meetings with traders, culminating in a Thursday gathering where major global commodity firms were asked to draw down stockpiles and cooperate with a probe into possible “illegal” activities.
The cost of iron ore is largely tied to daily spot-market assessments from third-party agencies including S&P Global Platts. Long-term contracts — which cover the vast majority of supplies — are based on averages of the spot price over agreed time periods, such as monthly or quarterly.
High stakes
This regime replaced a system of high-stakes annual price talks, which collapsed in 2010 amid pressure from overseas iron ore miners. In December 2020, with prices also rallying before a round of government stimulus, China’s steel mills said the price mechanism had failed.
Centralized negotiations are by no means unprecedented for China’s purchases. A group of China’s top copper smelters collectively bargains the price for annual supplies of raw materials, for example.
But general problems with such an approach include coordination across a huge number of buyers, and the potential for cargoes to be resold at higher prices. The latter was widespread before the breakdown of annual pricing earlier this century.
Beijing is also encouraging other moves to improve its position in iron ore, the people said. The government wants further mergers and acquisitions among big steelmakers, as well as more domestic output and the purchasing of stakes in mines outside China.
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China approves three coal mines in Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia www.channelnewsasia.com

BEIJING : China's state planner has approved two coal mines Shaanxi province with annual capacity at six million tonnes and five million tonnes each, it said on Monday.
The National Development and Reform Commission has also approved a coal mine in the Inner Mongolia region with capacity at eight million tonnes per year, it said.
The three coal mines involve total investment at 24.12 billion yuan ($3.81 billion), according to the state planner.
($1 = 6.3313 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Min Zhang and Dominique Patton; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Source: Reuters
 
 
 
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Learning an essential winter skill in Mongolia www.peacecorps.gov

It was a hot summer day, five weeks into my training to become a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia. I was living with my host family in a small northern village. Around us the hills were covered in yellow wildflowers. A few dozen trees dotted the horizon.
My Mongolian language skills were slowly improving, but my vocabulary was still limited. As I walked home from morning language classes, my host mom spotted me and called me towards the family truck. “Ashley! Naasha, naasha!” (come here) was among the first phrases I learned in Mongolia. As I neared, she continued to speak. I managed to catch a few words: “over there,” “fire,” and “learn.”
I still wasn't sure what we were up to as I climbed into the truck with my host mom, brother and sister. We headed toward the hills surrounding town, and the village grew smaller and smaller in the background. I took in the vast deep blue skies and seemingly endless sprawl of uninhabited land. The grazing goats and sheep looked peaceful as we drove by.
We reached the base of a large hill. Nearby, I noticed a fenced-in area with uneven, flattish brown clods, of all shapes and sizes, stacked in the middle. My host mom smiled at me and said, “garl” (fire). I still didn't understand what we were going to do. She pointed at the goats and sheep grazing in the distant fields and then handed me a burlap sack, motioning for me to follow her. To my surprise I watched as she and my little brother and sister started collecting the dried animal droppings from the ground.
It finally clicked. I realized that the brown clods I’d been looking at were stacks of dried animal dung collected to use as fuel. At home in the U.S., I used wood as fuel for camping or fireplaces, but during training in Mongolia, I learned that locals used many types of fuel, and animal dung was very popular in regions without forests.
The four of us fanned out across the field to collect dung in our bags. We stacked chunks on top of the storage piles and loaded pieces of the valuable fuel in the back of the truck to take home. The earthy smell of dried dung filled my nostrils, but it didn’t bother me much. I admired my family’s ingenuity in using the available resources to survive.
Back home, my host mom gave me a lesson in fire-making. I would need this crucial skill to survive Mongolian winters. While I had my share of campfires and bonfires in the U.S., fire starter, logs and lighter fluid were always on hand to get the fire going. In Mongolia wood, coal, dung, and matches are used to make fires for cooking and heating. With no forests nearby, logs were imported from other regions and then villagers cut them into smaller pieces to use as fuel.
My host mom showed me how to place small pieces of wood, paper, bits of trash and dung together in a pile. I lit a match and placed it close to the kindling. The paper around the edges of the pile lit up, but soon died out. Puzzled, I watched my host mom rearrange the kindling. She made a small hollow opening in the pile and told me to try again. I struck another match, and with more oxygen, the blaze was soon crackling. She smiled at me with satisfaction, knowing I would make it through the winter.
Throughout service, I made a fire every day inside my ger (yurt) during the cold months. My wood stove provided warmth and comfort throughout the long, frigid Mongolian winters. Every time I chopped wood, collected dung, or sat next to the warmth of the fire, I was grateful for my fire-starting skill, taught to me by my host mom. To this day, whenever I use my gas stove at home, I’m brought back to the time when I learned to make a fire by hand. Now more than ever, I appreciate the warmth, light and sociability that fire holds for me.
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Japan to start COVID vaccinations for children www.nhk.or.jp

Japan's government will start shipping coronavirus vaccines this week to municipalities and medical facilities, for use by children aged between five and 11.
Vaccinations for that age group will be officially included in the public inoculation program on Monday.
The government plans to deliver a total of about 12 million doses of coronavirus vaccine nationwide through May. Inoculations are expected to begin in some areas as early as this month.
For children in this age group the vaccine will contain one-third of the dose for those aged 12 or above. Children will receive two jabs with a period of three weeks in between.
Unlike people aged 12 or older, children aged five to 11 are not required to try to receive a coronavirus vaccine as there is not yet enough data to verify its effectiveness against the Omicron variant.
Parental consent will also be required for children in the age group to be inoculated. The health ministry is calling on parents to have a thorough discussion with their children, as well as to consult with their home doctors before making a decision.
The ministry urges children with respiratory and other underlying health problems to be vaccinated as they have a higher risk of developing severe COVID symptoms.
The ministry does not recommend mass vaccinations at school. Children will be inoculated at vaccination sites in their municipalities, or at clinics on an individual basis.
There are concerns that some municipalities may find it difficult to secure doctors and staff to support vaccinations for children. The challenge is how to secure a system for children and their parents who wish to receive shots.
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Cheese factories to be established in 18 soums in Khuvsgul www.montsame.mn

Cheese factories will be established in 18 soums of Khuvsgul aimag, one of the aimags having the most livestock.
MNT 4 billion was earmarked in the state budget for 2021 to open cheese factories in eight soums, Galt, Jargalant, Tsagaan-Uul, Renchinlkhumbe, Tsagaan-Uur, Ikh-Uul, Rashaant, and Tosontsengel and Khan Attribute LLC that won the project bid is working to open the factories this year.
In this year’s state budget, MNT 5 billion has been earmarked to build more cheese factories in 10 soums, Alag-Erdene, Arbulag, Burentogtokh, Tumurbulag, Tunel, Tarialan, Ulaan-Uul, Tsetserleg, Shine-Ider, and Erdenebulgan.
The establishment of cheese factories in rural areas will help herders process their milk locally and export the products abroad for increased income, said Ya.Erkhembayar, head of the aimag’s department for food and agriculture.
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EBRD’s Women in Business Programme launched www.montsame.mn

Minister of Labour and Social Protection, head of the programme steering committee A.Ariunzaya took part in the opening ceremony of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Women in Business Programme (WiB) in Central Asia.
In her opening remarks, the Minister emphasized that the government of Mongolia is working towards an objective to move from welfare to work, announcing that the National Council for Employment is implementing the ‘Women's employment support program’ in 2022.
Minister A.Ariunzaya stressed the significance of implementing WiB that provides effective and equal opportunities to women through funding, consulting, and policy discussions in Mongolia with support from donors.
The programme launch took place during a meeting under the topic "How EBRD can support women-owned businesses". Co-funded by Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative and EBRD, WiB aims to support capacity building of women through increased economic opportunities.
EBRD is successfully implementing the programme in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan since 2015 and deems it significant to other Central Asian countries and Mongolia.
The Women in Business Programme in Central Asia plans to reach around 7,000 women-owned small and medium enterprises in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan that all face gender- and policy-related issues in finding funding, knowhow and business opportunities.
The programme opening ceremony was attended by U.S. and British Ambassadors, EBRD Managing Director for Central Asia Zsuzsanna Hargitai, Head of EBRD in Mongolia Hannes Takacz, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions Francis Malige, Head of Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative Secretariat, and representatives of Mongolia government and non-government organizations, non-bank financial institutions, and companies.
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Mongolia reports lowest number of daily COVID-19 cases since early January www.xinhuanet.com

Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia registered 309 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, the lowest since Jan. 3, bringing the national tally to 462,406, the country's health ministry said Monday.
Meanwhile, no more COVID-19 related deaths were recorded in the past day, and the country's death toll remains at 2,087, it said.
So far, 66.8 percent of the country's 3.4 million people have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, while more than 1 million people over 18 received one booster.
The country started to administer a voluntary fourth shot in January, and over 96,100 people have received it.
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Export increased by 29.3 percent compared to the previous months www.montsame.mn

In January 2022, Mongolia traded with 117 countries from all over the world, and the total trade turnover reached USD 1.1 billion, of which USD 539.6 million were exports and USD 556.5 million were imports. The total foreign trade turnover decreased by USD 2.5 million (0.2 percent), where exports decreased by USD 100.2 million (15.7 percent) and imports increased by USD 97.7 million (21.3 percent) compared to the same period of the previous year. In January 2021, exports increased by USD 122.3 million (29.3 percent) and while imports decreased by USD 104.2 million (15.8 percent) compared to the previous month.
The foreign trade balance was in surplus of USD 181.0 million in January 2021 and while it was in deficit of 16.9 million in January 2022, decreased by USD 197.9 million compared to the same period of the previous year. In January 2022, trade balance deficit decreased by USD 226.5 million from previous month. Trade with China reached USD 520.4 million in January 2022, which is accounting 47.5 percent of the total trade turnover.
Bituminous coal and copper concentrates accounted for 36.6 percent and 48.1 percent of total exports to China, respectively, gold accounted for 99.8 percent of total export to Switzerland. In January 2022, USD 100.2 million decrease in exports from the same period of the previous year was resulted from USD 18.6 million decrease in copper concentrates and USD 77.9 million decrease in coal exports.
Exports border price of coal has been decreased in the last two consecutive months and crude petroleum was not been exported.
In January 2022, USD 122.3 million increase in exports from the previous month was mainly due to USD 111.2 million increase in copper concentrates exports.
In January 2022, 33.9 percent of the total imports were from Russia, 27.9 percent -- from China, 9.3 percent -- from Japan, 4.7 percent -- from the Republic of Korea, 3.0 percent -- from USA and 2.6 percent -- from Germany, which are accounting for 81.3 percent of the total imports.
In January 2022, 58.0 percent of the total imports from Russia were petroleum products, 75.2 percent of the total imports from Japan were cars, and 7.4 percent of the total imports from China -- electricity, 2.9 percent -- trucks and 89.7 percent -- imports of other products. The USD 97.7 million increase in imports from the same period of the previous year was mainly due to USD 15.0 million increase in diesel, USD 15.1 million increase in petrol, USD 12.2 million increase in cars.
Exports of mineral products, natural or cultured stones, precious metal, jewelry and textile articles products made up 98.4 percent of the total export. On the other hand, 65.0 percent of the total imports was mineral products, machinery, equipment and electric appliances, transport vehicle and its spare parts and food products.
National Statistics Office
 
 
 
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Trump's Truth Social app launches on Apple App Store www.reuters.com

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's new social media venture, Truth Social, launched late on Sunday in Apple's App Store, potentially marking the former president's return to social media after he was banned from several platforms last year.
The app was available to download shortly before midnight ET and was automatically downloaded to Apple Inc (AAPL.O) devices belonging to users who had pre-ordered the app.
Some users reported either having trouble registering for an account or were added to a waitlist with a message: "Due to massive demand, we have placed you on our waitlist."
The app has been available for people invited to use it during its test phase, Reuters previously reported.
Trump was banned from Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), Facebook (FB.O) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) YouTube following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.
Led by former Republican U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the venture behind Truth Social, joins a growing portfolio of technology companies that are positioning themselves as champions of free speech and hope to draw users who feel their views are suppressed on more established platforms.
So far none of the newer companies, which include Twitter competitors Gettr and Parler and video site Rumble, have come close to matching the popularity of their mainstream counterparts.
"This week we will begin to roll out on the Apple App Store. That's going to be awesome, because we're going to get so many more people that are going to be on the platform," Nunes said in a Sunday appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo".
"Our goal is, I think we're going to hit it, I think by the by the end of March we're going to be fully operational at least within the United States," he added.
Truth Social's app store page detailing its version history showed the first public version of the app, or version 1.0 was available a day ago, confirming a Reuters report. The current version 1.0.1 includes "bug fixes," according to the page.
DRUMMING SUPPORT
On Friday, Nunes was on the app urging users to follow more accounts, share photos and videos and participate in conversations, in an apparent attempt to drum up activity, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Among Nunes' posts, he welcomed a new user who appeared to be a Catholic priest and encouraged him to invite more priests to join, according to the person with knowledge of the matter.
Even as details of the app begin trickling out, TMTG remains mostly shrouded in secrecy and is regarded with skepticism by some in tech and media circles. It is unclear, for example, how the company is funding its current growth.
TMTG is planning to list in New York through a merger with blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O) (DWAC) and stands to receive $293 million in cash that DWAC holds in a trust, assuming no DWAC shareholder redeems their shares, TMTG said in an Oct. 21 press release.
Additionally, in December TMTG raised $1 billion committed financing from private investors; that money also will not be available until the DWAC deal closes. read more
Digital World's activities have come under scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to a regulatory filing, and the deal is likely months away from closing.
Reporting by Julia Love in San Francisco and Helen Coster in New York; Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Lincoln Feast
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Mongolia’s path to economic revival www.policyforum.net

Mongolia’s government has announced a ‘comprehensive’ plan to help its economy rebound from the shock of the pandemic, but it contains no policies designed specifically to reduce poverty, Ariun-Erdene Bayarjargal writes.
Though pandemics do not ‘die’, COVID-19 is likely to fade away from central focus in 2022. As the world transitions into post-pandemic life and into a new normal, policymakers are now looking at recovery options for economies hit hard by the pandemic. Mongolia is no exception.
Mongolia’s economy contracted by 5.3 per cent in 2020, the largest decline in last two decades, but a strong return on exports helped the economy to rebound in the first half of 2021.
High commodity prices, particularly of mining products, in the world market led to a positive balance of trade despite raw volume of exports decreasing. The International Monetary Fund’s Mongolia outlook indicates growth is expected to be 7.5 per cent in 2022.
Alongside this expectation of strong growth, though, is inflation. Supply-chain disruption induced by border closures caused annual inflation to reach 13.4 per cent as of December last year, and hikes in food and fuel prices have also contributed to inflation.
Consequently, the Bank of Mongolia has shifted to a tighter monetary policy, raising its policy rate by 0.5 points from its historic low level of six per cent at the end of January and increasing reserve requirements.
In terms of vaccines, the government of Mongolia managed to secure vaccines for its population by taking an advantage of its proximity to two large vaccine-producing countries in China and Russia.
By the end of January 2022, over 60 per cent of the adult population had received at least one dose of a vaccine. However this vaccination rate, which is among the highest for lower-middle income countries, has not translated into socio-economic normality, and difficult economic conditions continue to affect the livelihoods of many Mongolians.
Like many other countries, in 2020 the government adopted a generous set of fiscal measures to ease the impact of the pandemic on households. These steps included quintupling child allowance money, doubling food stamp allowance, and substantially raising social welfare payments for the vulnerable.
The total size of the package including tax exemptions and support to small and medium businesses reached 7.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in total by August 2020.
Further lockdowns caused income losses to households and firms in 2021, and the government continued the relief package by distributing a cash handout of 300 thousand Mongolian Tögrög (US$104) to every citizen, costing the budget equivalent to 2.5 per cent of the country’s GDP.
Overall, 2.4 million people received social assistance, with child allowance money making up 49.6 per cent of assistance received. Of households affected by economic shocks related to COVID-19 pandemic, those employed in low-skilled and/or informal sectors, those with limited economic security, and those living just above the national poverty line were disproportionately impacted and remain at a high risk of falling into poverty.
One micro-simulation analysis by the World Bank indicates the poverty rate could have increased between 5.4 and 7.9 percentage points compared to the pre-COVID-19 projections in the absence of the government’s mitigation policy.
Although these relief programs helped many households retain their income, their rapid withdrawal could create significant difficulties in the wake of increasing inflation. The challenge Mongolia faces now is that it has limited fiscal capacity but must continue supporting its people as the economy recovers. On top of this, further expansionary fiscal policy could lead to currency pressures, exacerbating inflation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the structure and conditions of Mongolia’s labour market. The country’s labour force participation rate is more than two percentage points below 2019 levels as of the third quarter of 2021.
More on this:India’s road to recovery
The service sector, which employs the largest share of workers on casual basis of any industry, was hit hard by the pandemic and the recovery has been slow due to mobility restrictions. Job losses were inevitable in a sector where workers were mostly ineligible for social security payments and other benefits, like paid leave.
This has made marginal income losses even larger among the poor. Women were affected disproportionately too, as they make up the majority of workforce in the service sector, and many were forced out of the labour force to care for children during lockdowns.
Studies have shown that the poor are more vulnerable to unemployment and inflation shocks than the rich, and Mongolia’s situation is no different. There is no doubt the pandemic has exacerbated the vulnerability of certain groups and widening inequality in the country.
Mongolia, like other countries, is shifting from policies focused on short-term economic relief towards accelerating recovery and building resilience. The parliament of Mongolia announced its plan, dubbed the ‘New Revival Policy’, at the end of December 2021, in addition to a four-year plan approved by the government in February 2021.
It focuses on medium-term development issues and outlines improving labour force participation, but it contains a glaring omission – a concrete plan for reducing poverty.
The ‘comprehensive plan’ will cost roughly $3.4 billion, or approximately a quarter of the country’s 2020 GDP in current prices.
The New Revival Policy is on top of this plan and extends this amount to more than $30 billion in the long run. With the government’s yearly revenue in 2021 reaching only $5 billion, it is not at all certain where the fiscal space to finance these programs is coming from in the long term.
While the plan does address issues related to improving youth employment and skills development, along with supporting small and medium businesses, it isn’t acceptable for there to be no specific action outlined for tackling poverty and inequality.
Of course, the government must adopt an integrated and fiscally viable approach to boost medium-term economic prospects and job creation, but it also needs to take specific action to tackle the socio-economic issues facing the Mongolian people, and poverty and inequality are the biggest of these problems.
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