At the plenary session dated July 02, Parliament of Mongolia, the State Great Khural, adopted the Amnesty Law with 49 members of the parliament in attendance voted in favor.

The Constitution of Mongolia, in its provision No. 25, grants the exclusive right to the State Great Khural to issue acts of amnesty. The Mongolian parliament has adopted amnesty laws a total of six times in 1991, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2009 and 2015.

The law is approved in the year commemorating the 2230th anniversary of Foundation of the first Mongolian Statehood and 100th anniversary of People’s Revolution of Mongolia.

The one-time amnesty law enters into force on July 6, 2021, and excludes 38 types of crimes and offences, including crime on money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, tax avoidance and violent crimes, drug-related crimes, environmental crimes, sexual assaults, crimes against children, and corruption crimes.

The seventh amnesty law of Mongolia will lead to release of around 3.6 percent of all prisoners and replace of 8.9 percent of prison sentences with restrictions to movement, 2-year reduction in 4.5 percent of prison sentences. Beginning July 6, 157 male prisoners and 3 women prisoners will be released from prison as a result of this law, and another 1,130 prisoner will have their prison sentence change to restrictions to movement, says Minister of Justice Kh.Nyambaatar.

At the July 2 plenary session, Parliament Speaker G.Zandanshatar highlighted that the approval of the amnesty law is the proof of humanitarian practice and implementation of the rule of law. He continued “The law is adopted to implement the call issued by the World Health Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to reduce the volume of restrictions of personal liberty and detention as well as the number of prisoners as much as possible, and to grant mercy for those who committed non-serious and minor violations, older age people, people with chronic diseases, women and children amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

Moreover, a large number of people being detained at prison and detention centers impose additional risks to the transmission of coronavirus and health of the prisoners. Mongolia’s Human Rights Commission forwarded a proposal to grant amnesty to male prisoners above 60 years old and female prisoners aged above 55 years old, lactating women, people with disabilities and teenagers based on their time served and behavior.

The 2021 amnesty law also shows one-time amnesty for people who have unpaid fines on traffic tickets and for people who had their driver's license suspended. It allows drivers who owe unpaid fines accrued due to traffic offenses to reduce those fines by 50 percent only on the condition that they have paid the remaining 50 percent off. Drivers whose licenses were suspended before June 24, 2021 are also entitled to have their license recovered with this law.

The 11th regular meeting of the Financial Regulatory Commission (FRC) was held on 11 June to discuss and resolve a number of important issues related to the sector's policies and decisions, as well as the business activities of legal entities.

The FRC has done a lot to develop the stock market. Most recently, the regulation on over-the-counter market relations was approved at the 23rd regular meeting last year. In today's meeting, the Securities Registration Procedure and Company Debt Instrument Registration Procedure were discussed and approved.

Adoption of this set of two regulations will improve the functions, responsibilities, and information transparency of listed securities issuers; between trading entities and government regulators. It will also eliminate duplication of company shares and debt instruments. In particular, it is an important policy measure, to support the development of the securities market and ensure its stability, efficiency and transparency.

License issued to The Capital Housing Corporation GURAV LLC

In the FRC meeting, it was decided to register the founding document of Mandal Future Growth (closed Joint Investment Fund) established by Mandal Asset Management LLC. With the establishment of this investment fund, it will be possible to increase the return on investment of investors by offering their shares to the public through a trading organization; raising more than MNT 50.0 billion, and investing in high-yield financial instruments. In addition, a license to issue asset-backed securities was issued to The Capital Housing Corporation Guruv LLC, established by The Capital Housing Corporation JSC.

The FRC has issued licenses to companies established by The Capital Housing Corporation JSC. At present, a total of MNT 87.8 billion worth of asset-backed securities have been registered, which enables 1,030 civil servants to participate in the rental housing program.

The meeting also decided to issue licenses to: two companies (allowing them to conduct insurance and non-bank financial foreign exchange trading), three companies (to conduct real estate brokerage activities), and one citizen (to conduct precious metal and stone trading).

At the same time, the licenses of five savings and credit cooperatives were extended, two companies were allowed to register closed bonds.

Source: Financial Regulatory Commission

Coal prices across Asia are surging to records, underscoring a challenge for governments seeking a faster energy transition: the dirtiest of fuels they’re racing to phase out is enjoying booming demand.

Power plants are rushing to secure adequate electricity supplies as a hot summer adds to demand from the region’s post-pandemic industrial revival. On top of that, output in some key producer nations has been hurt, while high natural gas costs mean there’s no cheaper alternative for utilities to turn to.

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All that has sparked a coal rally in Asia, the center of demand for the fossil fuel. The price of physical coal cargoes in Australia’s Newcastle and China’s Qinhuangdao ports have soared more than 50% this year to their highest ever. Futures are also up, with those in Australia jumping almost 50% and prices in China more than doubling.

“Coal prices just keep on punching higher,” said Sydney-based Peter O’Connor, an analyst at Shaw & Partners Ltd. “We’re close to the top in terms of pricing, but I don’t think we’re there yet.”

The rally is highlighting coal’s enduring role in the world’s energy mix, particularly in Asia’s large and growing economies, despite a broader push for more aggressive action to tackle climate change. Coal accounted for more than a third of global electricity generation in 2019, according to BloombergNEF. The top three consumers — China, India and the U.S. — are all forecast to burn more this year.

“We can see fairly robust pricing toward year-end,” Sakkie Swanepoel, group manager of marketing at Exxaro Resources Ltd., the South Africa-based miner and coal producer, said on a Tuesday conference call. “We do not see prices just falling off the cliff.”

Here’s what’s driving the rally in key markets:

China

Much of the tightness in the market can be traced back to China, which produces and burns half the world’s supply. Power demand is surging as factories take on orders to supply rebounding economies, and domestic mine output has been slowed by safety inspections after a series of deadly accidents and extra scrutiny because of the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary celebrations.

China coal buying.

Power plants are looking to imports to fill the gap, with June deliveries expected to top 30 million tonnes for the first time this year before rising again in July and August, according to analysts at Fengkuang Coal Logistics. The country still refuses to allow Australian purchases amid a geopolitical rift.

Even with government efforts to cool the market — such as releasing stockpiles and pressuring state-owned suppliers not to let bidding get out of hand — prices will hold at elevated levels this summer, especially as the spot market is facing a “pretty serious” shortage, said Huatai Futures Ltd. analyst Wang Haitao.

Australia

Producers have shrugged off the loss of a key export market after diplomatic tensions saw China halt Australian coal purchases from late last year. Cargoes of premium thermal coal have quickly found alternative buyers, while suppliers of mid-quality power station fuel and steel-making coal are poised to benefit as India and parts of Southeast Asia ease Covid-related restrictions, Australia’s government said in a report this week.

Benchmark prices for higher-quality physical coal at Australia’s Newcastle port have jumped 66% this year to a record of $136.38 a tonne, according to China Coal Resource. Newcastle coal futures on Thursday rose to $131.45 a tonne, the highest since March 2011.

Benchmark Newcastle coal

Those gains haven’t translated into advances for some Australian producers. Yancoal Australia Ltd. has declined 18% this year to Thursday’s close, while Coronado Global Resources Inc. has slumped 20%. “Coal is going up, and yet people don’t want to invest in coal,” O’Connor said. “There is a dislocation between coal prices and equities.” Companies including Whitehaven Coal Ltd. have also faced lengthy legal battles over expansion plans.

Japan

Some Japanese utilities have boosted spot coal purchases after the country’s Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry ordered them to be prepared for summer demand after winter shortages sent power prices rocketing.

Tohoku Electric Power Co. had to agree to a 60% price bump for its annual coal supply through March 2022 from Glencore Plc. Still, the sky-high coal prices are nowhere near the level they would need to be to cause utilities to switch to liquefied natural gas, where prices have risen by 500% in the past year.

coal demand

Even in the middle of summer, buyers are already negotiating October-loading cargoes as they seek to secure supplies ahead of winter.

Indonesia

Heavy rains in Indonesia in the beginning of the year curtailed supply in the world’s biggest exporter of power plant coal. The government in April gave miners permission to produce an extra 75 million tonnes for export, on top of the 550 million tonnes it had set as a production quota, but so far supplies are behind pace.

top thermal coal exporters

“We don’t know yet if the export target can be achieved,” Indonesia Coal Mining Association Executive Director Hendra Sinadia said in an interview. “Even if prices are good it will also depend on demand and economic recovery in buyer countries amid this pandemic situation.”

India

India, the second-biggest coal user, burns the fuel for about 70% of its power needs and higher prices could ripple across the economy, accelerating inflation, according to Rupesh Sankhe, vice president at Elara Capital India Pvt. in Mumbai.

Coal India Ltd., the top global producer of the fuel, is seeking to win sales as customers switch to domestic sources from higher-cost imports. It’s also debating whether to lift prices for long-term contracts to reflect the surge in global benchmark rates, Chairman Pramod Agrawal said last month.

The producer “has a great chance to win back customers that had switched to imports,” Sankhe said.

(By David Stringer and Dan Murtaugh, with assistance from Krystal Chia, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Eko Listiyorini, Miaojung Lin, Tsuyoshi Inajima and Stephen Stapczynski)

The Mongolian Government has decided to totally cancel the annual Naadam Festival, the biggest celebration in Mongolia due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Cabinet decision is to keep the Naadam holiday as planned between 10-16 July. Therefore, Mongolians will enjoy a nine-day-long holiday including the weekends. According to the “Public Celebration Law” – the 10-12th of July are public holidays for the Naadam Festival.

On July 02, many citizens, mostly young people demonstrated on Sukhbaatar Square demanding a cancellation of the festival and held vigil light for the victims of Covid-19. The participants held slogans such as “#NoNaadam”, or “Naad Ami’” – literally: “play life”. Feelings are mixed: earlier today, some horse riding fans demonstrated on the same square demanding to hold Naadam as planned.

Previously, the centuries-old festival had been shifted online due to coronavirus for the second year running. But, many Mongolians have begun demanding the government to cancel the virtual Naadam and use its MNT 10 billion budget for supporting the health sector. The Covid-19 pandemic in Mongolia is worsening daily as the death toll has passed two digits and more young people are now dying of the virus. The healthcare system is now teetering on the brink, with many hospitals are unable to handle the relentless inflow of patients whilst also running short of beds, oxygen and ventilators.

Separately, the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia is advising to cancel the traditional horse racing in order to protect children from getting Covid-19. Young Mongolian boys and girls aged 7-12 compete in this ancient tradition – racing horses at top speeds on the country’s vast steppes. These cross-country horse races are some of the longest in the world.

Supermarket chain Morrisons has accepted a £6.3bn ($8.7bn) takeover bid by a US investment group led by the owner of Majestic Wine.

Last month, the supermarket group turned down an offer worth £5.5bn from a different firm, saying it had significantly undervalued the business.

Morrisons chairman, Andrew Higginson, said the new offer was fair, and the chain would "continue to prosper".

The firm has nearly 500 shops and more than 110,000 staff in the UK.

The takeover - led by US private equity group Fortress Investment Group - is subject to shareholder approval but the supermarket group's directors are recommending it is unanimously voted for.

Under the deal's terms deal shareholders will get 254p per share - which Morrisons said was a 42% premium on its share price before the offer period - brought about with the disclosure of the rejected offer from Clayton Dublier & Rice (CD&R).

Mr Higginson said the supermarket's "performance through the pandemic" had improved its standing and enabled it to enter discussions with Fortress from "a hard-won position of strength".

He said it was clear to the supermarket's directors that Fortress had a "full understanding and appreciation of the fundamental character of Morrisons".

Joshua A Pack, managing partner at Fortress, said the group was committed to being "good stewards of Morrisons".

Fortress's bid is backed with funding by the Canada Pension Plan and Koch Real Estate Investments - part of Koch Industries.

Morrisons share price graphic

Russ Mould, investment director at stock broker AJ Bell, said the American investors may have considered Morrisons - the UK's fourth largest supermarket group - as being "unloved, under appreciated and therefore under valued" meaning they thought they were getting a bargain.

Mr Mould added that Fortress had been clear in its statement that it did not plan to sell any of its real estate which he thought was aimed at reassuring staff and wider society that this would not be a case of asset stripping by a private equity firm.

Morrisons owns the freehold on about 85% of its properties including its supermarkets.

Labour's shadow business minister Seema Malhotra said the government must closely scrutinise the takeover bid and called on ministers to work with the consortium to ensure "crucial commitments to protect the workforce and the pension scheme are legally binding, and met".

The government said it was committed to "ensuring that the UK remains open for business, while protecting the livelihoods of British workers and investment in the UK".

Workers union Unite said it wanted "unbreakable guarantees" on jobs and conditions or it would not co-operate with any sale.

Unite's national officer for road transport Adrian Jones, which represents Morrisons' warehouse and distribution workers, said the company was "unique among UK supermarkets" because it owns its supply chain.

Following confirmation of one takeover bid last month, news of another was not unexpected.

The message from Fortress and its partners is that this would be a long-term investment rather than precipitate dramatic change.

It has made it clear it would support the existing strategy of Morrison's management. Areas for development include the supermarket's online offering.

Fortress has also sought to pre-empt and assuage any concerns about the impact its takeover would have on the business, its workforce and supply chain.

For example, supporting pay of at least £10 an hour, not changing the pension schemes, and not anticipating "material" store sale-and-leasebacks. The fact Morrisons owns most of its sites is perceived as a big draw.

But still, Labour and the Unite union are demanding further guarantees.

If this deal does come to fruition, it will shorten an already short list of the remaining publicly listed UK supermarkets.

2px presentational grey line

Richard Lim, of research consultants Retail Economics, said the deal "signals the biggest shakeup in the UK grocery sector for over a decade" as the industry grapples with changes brought by the pandemic and post-Brexit supply chains.

Adam Leyland, editor-in-chief of trade publication the Grocer, said the fact the bid had been recommended by the board made it more likely to go through and put pressure on CD&R - which could return with a follow up bid.

He said the nature of the way a purchase was made was important and said the Morrisons deal, in which he said the consortium planned to "back the business", was in contrast to the Issa Brothers buyout of Asda.

In that deal a large amount of the £6.8bn purchase price was met by borrowing in what is know as a leveraged buyout.

Morrisons started life as a market stall in Bradford in 1899 but it was not until 1961 that the first supermarket store opened under the name.

In 2004, the group bought rival grocer Safeway for £3bn, giving it a bigger slice of the market in southern England.

On July 4, Sunday, the new Chinggis Khaan International Airport, built with a soft loan funding from the Government of Japan, officially opened with the first flight departed to Tokyo, Japan, as operated by MIAT Mongolian Airlines – national flag carrier.

Chinggis Khaan International Airport, situated 50 km south of the capital city of Ulaanbaatar - Khushigt Valley, Tuv aimag, is the largest international air facility in the country, covering an area of 104,200 square meters of aerodrome and 35,300 square meters of passenger terminals, with an annual passenger handling capacity of 2 million. The airport has one runaway with the length of 3,600 meters and the width of 45 meters, equipped to accommodate large aircraft.

With prime contractor - a partnership of Mitsubishi and Chiyoda corporations, the airport was built through financial cooperation between the Government of Mongolia and the Government of Japan, and meets international standards and utilizes advanced Japanese technology. The airport development project was implemented with total funding of JPY 65.6 billion between June 2013 and April 2020.

According to the Japanese Embassy in Mongolia, 12 airlines will operate at the new airport, including, MIAT, Aero Mongolia, Hunnu Air, Eznis Airways LLC, Air China, Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Air Busan, SCAT Airlines and Angara Airlines. “The new Ulaanbaatar international airport will become a new symbol of cooperation between Japan and Mongolia, provide security, and make a valuable contribution to Mongolia's economic development, including the development of tourism, freight, and aviation.”

The airport now replaces the previously-operating Buyant Ukhaa Airport – later named as Chinggis Khaan International Airport, in order to provide for increasing demands of air travel passengers and to ensure complete safety of air travels

The Government of Japan took part in the development project of the new airport as well as relocation plan development, runaway maintenance, fuel supply maintenance, management of airport leases and pricing strategies together with Japan International Cooperation Agency.

A New Ulaanbaatar International Airport LLC was established jointly by partnership of Japanese companies and the government of Mongolia under a concession contract. This is the first time a private company taking responsibility of the management of an airport in Mongolia.

Starting from July 4, public transport buses are operating from four locations in Ulaanbaatar city to the new airport. One-way trip between the airport and Ulaanbaatar city is expected to take around 80-100 minutes.

The two-seater "charter" connection in the form of ultralight aircraft SHARK with serial number 103, which set off from Václav Havel Airport Prague on June 26, landed at the newly-launched international airport of Ulaanbaatar on July 3, 2021, after covering a distance of 7,299 kilometers.

SHARK, having a symbol of the Mongolian Four Powers – mythical creatures of the Heaven and Earth Guardians depicted on the wings by the artist L. Amarsanaa, has become the first to arrive in Mongolia. Under the protection of these Four Powers the airplane arrived via its own unique route and seal the path of Heaven.

SHARK with registration OK-AUR71 is built on the 71-year history of Czech-Mongolian relations, during which the Czechs built the 1st hospital in Ulaanbaatar, helped build the mining, leather and footwear industries, in recent years also engaged in environmental protection, mainly thanks to the project Prague Zoo "Return of Wild Horses". After deliveries of Czech buses, motorcycles, cars, locomotives and other equipment to Mongolia, it is time for cooperation in the aviation industry, which is one of the world's best in the Czech Republic, especially in the field of ultralight flying.

The commander of the aircraft Denis Gibadulin and at the same time the managing director of SHARK.AERO CZ together with the German pilot living in Mongolia for a long time Gerhard Wackenhut will present the Czech model of private flying in 20 times larger Mongolia. As in the 1990s, Mongolia was largely inspired by the Czech path to democracy and a market economy and became a priority country for Czech development aid, today it has the opportunity to use the Czech model of a country with a vibrant aviation industry and services with more than 3,000 private ultralight aircraft.

Despite their great geographical distance, the Czech Republic and Mongolia are very close partners. Diplomatic relations were established between the two countries as early as 1950. In the 1960s, Czech geologists worked in Mongolia and contributed to the discovery of the largest copper and molybdenum deposits. In the 1970s, the then Czechoslovakia financed and implemented the construction of the 1st hospital in Ulaanbaatar, and was at the birth of the Mongolian leather and footwear industry. In Mongolia, Czech buses, motorcycles, cars and trucks, turbines and locomotives, production lines in the food industry, equipment for the armed forces have proved their qualities, but of course Czech beer, Czech glass and porcelain have also gained popularity.

Tens of thousands of Mongolian students studied at Czech universities. In the 1990s, Mongolia was largely inspired by the Czech path to democracy and a market economy and became a priority country for Czech development aid. The importance of trade relations between the two countries and cooperation in the field of environmental protection is growing, especially thanks to the Prague Zoo project "Return of Wild Horses", but also thanks to long-term activities of Czech non-profit organizations People in Need and Charity. Today, the Czech Republic is the second home of the largest Mongolian community in Europe, numbering more than ten thousand citizens.

The Parliament of Mongolia adopted amendments to the Banking Law on January 29, 2021. According to the amendments and the “Temporary regulation on developing, implementing, reporting, and monitoring, a bank’s plans to restructure of the bank as publicly traded company and change its shareholding structure, and plans” for the implementation of its restructuring, must be submitted for review to the Bank of Mongolia and Financial Regulatory Commission by July 1, 2021.

Golomt Bank submitted its plan for becoming a Publicly Traded Company to the Bank of Mongolia and Financial Regulatory Commission on June 29, 2021.

In the process of offering shares to the public, Golomt Bank is cooperating with the best, prestigious international and domestic organizations, as the main underwriter “Mirae Asset Securities Mongolia” LLC, as the assistant underwriter “Golomt Capital” LLC, as a legal advisor “Financial Law Consulting” LLC, as an external evaluation organization KPMG LLC, and as a financial auditor PWC LLC.

Golomt Bank firstly introduced an international payment card system and delivered the first MasterCard and Visa cards to its customers. Therefore, has been a pioneer in the field of innovative products and services such as the first international payment card system, internet banking, 24-hour banking service, Western union money transfer, ATM, Smart banking service, and SocialPay digital wallet. Golomt bank’s every service introduced to the market, aims to take the development of the Mongolian banking and financial sector to a new level and become a world standards Mongolian bank.

Sandwiched between Russia in the north and China in the south, Mongolia could soon serve as an important transit country for Russian natural gas and its related supply chains.

Even so, Russia will struggle to boost its economic presence in Mongolia, which has long served as a buffer zone between its two neighboring giants.

Once completed, the Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline will become an extension of Russia’s Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline in Mongolian territory. In other words, this ambitious project is meant to provide supplies of Russian gas across Mongolia and into China.

Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom has already opened a subsidiary company called Gazoprovod Soyuz Vostok in Mongolia and the landlocked country’s Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh recently visited Moscow, where she met with Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee.

It is unlikely a coincidence that Batmunkh’s first foreign trip since her appointment was to Russia. Prior to her visit to the Russian capital, two local General Intelligence Directorate officers in Ulaanbaatar were sentenced to 14 years in prison allegedly because they spied for Russia.

That action, however, did not apparently affect overall relations between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar. In November, the two nations will mark a century of establishing diplomatic relations and have already signed a permanent treaty on friendly relations and lifted bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

According to the document, Russia and Mongolia will undertake to develop cooperation in the spheres of politics, defense, economy, trade, finance and investment. Indeed, Ulaanbaatar’s bilateral military relationship with Moscow remains a priority for Mongolia.

Military-technical relations

In June 2021, Mongolia’s Defense Minister Gursed Saikhanbayar met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu to discuss the development of military-technical relations.

It is estimated that more than 60% of Mongolians who undertake military training abroad are in the Russian Federation. The two countries also regularly hold annual joint field training exercises.

On the other hand, since 2003 the Asian nation of about three million people holds joint exercises with the United States as well, and many Mongolian officers have been trained in the US. However, Mongolia seems to have more recently moved away from its “third neighbor” policy and started to pay more attention to its relations with Russia and China.

In 2016, the three countries reached a comprehensive deal on developing the China-Mongolia-Russia (CMR) economic corridor.

At its core, the CMR corridor aims to improve transport connectivity and cross-border trade services through infrastructure development. It also aims to strengthen three-way cooperation across energy, agribusiness, communication technology, tourism and environmental protection.

An oil pump jack in a field in the district of Omnodelger, in Khentii Province, Mongolia. Photo: AFP via Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich

“We pay great attention to the development of the central railway corridor to increase transit trade flows from Europe and Russia to China and in the opposite direction through the territory of Mongolia.

Along with this, the construction of new railway lines in Mongolia is underway,” a former Mongolian foreign minister wrote for Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta in 2020.

Black gold from Mongolia

Indeed, the Tavan-Tolgoi-Zuunbayan railway route is now being actively built, with completion expected in 2022. China will be the biggest beneficiary of this transport network given that Beijing is one of the biggest buyers of Mongolia’s coal.

After China imposed a ban on the import of Australian coal, Beijing reportedly increased coal purchases from Mongolia as well as Russia and Indonesia. Mongolian authorities, on the other hand, seem to be trying to diversify the country’s coal export routes.

There are reports suggesting that Mongolia’s huge reserves of high-quality coal could be soon exported worldwide via the ports of the Russian Far East at Vladivostok and the Vostochny coal terminal.

Such a possibility is not surprising given that Mongolia sees Russia as a balance against Chinese economic and political dominance.

Maintaining good neighborly cooperation with Russia is necessary for Mongolia’s balanced foreign policy. In the past, however, the balance of power was greatly advantageous to Russia since the country was seen as the unofficial “16th republic” of the Soviet Union.

Following the collapse of the USSR, the Kremlin lost much of its influence in Ulaanbaatar. But that lost influence is being regained as Moscow redevelops its energy business in Mongolia.

Russian energy holding companies Inter RAO and Rotek could soon take part in the modernization of existing thermal power plants in the Mongolian capital. And once the Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline is fully operational, Moscow could increase not only its economic but also its political influence in Mongolia.

It is also probable that the country will eventually sign a free-trade agreement with the Russia-dominated Eurasian Union, although full membership in the supranational entity does not look realistic at this point since it would likely jeopardize Ulaanbaatar’s policy of strategic balance between Russia and China.

by: Nikola Mikovic is a political analyst in Serbia. His work focuses mostly on the foreign policies of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with special attention on energy and “pipeline politics.”

Mongolia reported 2,520 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, raising its national caseload to 125,260, the country's health ministry said Sunday.

The ministry said that a total of 8,834 samples were tested across Mongolia in the past day.

One of the latest confirmed cases was imported from abroad, and the remaining ones were local infections.

In the past day, 10 patients died from the virus, pushing the death toll to 641, while the number of recoveries grew by 1,886 to 84,819, said the ministry.

The Asian country launched a national vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its population of 3.3 million. So far, more than 1,759,600 Mongolians have been fully vaccinated.