Mongolia’s quadrennial presidential election of 2021 is scheduled on June 9, Wednesday. The General Election Commission (GEC) has approved the candidates nominated by three political parties and coalitions with seats in the State Great Khural.

On May 24, today, the GEC handed over the candidacy cards to the approved presidential candidates, who are Khurelsukh Ukhnaa from the ruling Mongolian People Party, Erdene Sodnomzundui from the Democratic Party and Enkhbat Dangaasuren from The Right Person Electorate Coalition.

After receiving his candidacy card, Former Prime Minister of Mongolia and Chair of the Mongolian People’s Party U. Khurelsukh pledged that if elected, he will be working towards firstly, strengthening the social justice, and independent legislative and judicial systems and secondly, strengthening the rule of law in the government with respect to parliamentary governance, human rights and free market economy.

“Continuing the past achievements on providing benefits from natural resources to Mongolians, I will establish sovereign wealth fund, carry out development projects and enable each and every citizen of the country to reap equal benefits from natural wealth as dividends. I also vow to pay more attention on reaffirming Mongolia’s reputation on an international level and creating a country with a ‘powerful economy’ as reflected in the government’s Vision – 2050 policy guideline, and maintaining the unity of our nation.” He then added that his election platform was developed on scientific basis, the government’s four-year action plan, Vision – 2050 long term policy document and the Constitution.

Presidential candidate from the Democratic Party S. Erdene “I feel confident that I can be a president who could overcome the difficulties encountered by the nation by exerting all my efforts. I nominated myself for the presidency as it is now my responsibility to protect the democracy”. He continued that the main principle of his platform for the election will be strict compliance with ‘freedom’.

Third candidate for the forthcoming presidential election from The Right Person Electorate Coalition, D.Enkhbat delivered remarks to the public as well, confirming that he will be working to strengthen the democracy, perfect the economy and society, improve livelihoods of the Mongolia people, establish justice and fight against corruption while contributing to the growth of Mongolia and creating a new Mongolia of the XXI century based on knowledge, skills and technology. His campaign slogan is ‘We all Mongolians can’ - Mongolian herders can, Mongolian engineers can and Mongolian youths can, he explains.

With the announcement of the final list of candidates, the official election campaigning launched today to run through the end of June 7, Monday – 24 hours prior to the polling day. The candidates’ declaration of income and assets as well as action plan are placed open to the public by the National Audit Office and the Independent Authority Against Corruption from this day.

In line with the law on presidential election, the election campaigning will take place for 15 days and during this period, the candidates have the opportunity to meet with voters and political parties and their candidates running for the presidential election will undertake eight types of permitted campaign activities, including distribution of promotional materials to voters, political advertising on radios, TVs and online, outdoor billboard advertisements and operating campaign offices.

In order to increase trade and investment between Mongolia and Japan, the National Development Agency, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Embassy of Mongolia in Japan, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Irbis Ventures hosted "Invest in Mongolia - Tokyo 2021", an online Mongolian-Japanese business forum on May 20. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) also cooperated as supporting organizations.

During the forum, Japanese investors and entrepreneurs were introduced to Mongolia’s economic cooperation, investment, and business climate reform plans, and the success stories of Japanese investors and entrepreneurs who have invested in Mongolia. In particular, CEO of Mobicom Corporation Tatsuya Hamada, CEO of And Global B.Khos-Erdene shared their experiences on investment and Board Member of Newcom Group E.Orchlon shared his views on the future and opportunities of Mongolia’s renewable energy sector.

Furthermore, projects selected and enhanced through the Project Capacity Building Program, carried out in cooperation with the National Development Agency, Irbis Ventures, and GMG Consulting, have been presented at the forum based on their high investment potential. For instance, introduction of projects by companies such as Chimege Systems (software, voice tech, AI/ NLP), Solongo Kharaa Company (health), Urban Lily (agriculture), Zoson Fashion (light industry) and “Mongolian Artisan Cheesemakers Union” attracted interest of Japanese investors.

Over 400 Japanese and Mongolian delegates attended the forum, representing the areas including banking and finance, construction, food production, light industry, other manufacturing sectors, transport, trade and education.

Incidentally, Mongolian-Japanese trade turnover reached USD 416.5 million by the end of 2020, a decrease of 30.7 percent compared to the previous year. Mongolia’s exports to Japan reached USD 9.68 million and imports reached USD 406.7 million in 2020, which is a year on year decrease of 38.6 percent and an increase of 30.6 percent respectively. The main export items were combed cashmere and cashmere products, while the main import items were passenger vehicles, trucks, public transport vehicles, rice, and synthetic fabrics.

Japan’s foreign direct investment in Mongolia from 1990 to 2020 was about USD 1 billion, ranking ninth out of 123 countries. Japan accounts for 4.4 percent of foreign direct investment in Mongolia. Trade and catering accounted for 45 percent of investment; 8.23 percent was in light industry; 14 percent was in construction, engineering, and construction materials; 9.6 percent was in banking and finance; and 23.17 percent was invested in other sectors. There are 670 Japanese direct foreign investment companies registered in Mongolia. Trade and catering account for 63.13 percent of these enterprises (423), light industry for 10.30 percent, banking and financial activities for 7.01 percent, tourism for 2.69 percent and other sectors for 16.87 percent.

May 20 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia on Thursday decided to further ease COVID-19 restrictions imposed in early April to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Major markets, hotels, restaurants, resorts, tourist camps and saunas across the country can resume their operations at 50-percent capacity starting Saturday with strict observation of social distancing guidelines and wearing face masks, Tseden-Ish Ganzorig, head of government press office, told a press conference.

However, only people who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to enter these units, said Ganzorig.

The ban on all kinds of gaming, religious and entertainment services, bars, and mass gatherings such as sports events and cultural activities across the country will stay unchanged, according to the official.

Mongolia imposed a nationwide lockdown on April 10 to curb the steep surge in local COVID-19 cases, and the lockdown restrictions have been eased gradually since May 8.

As of Thursday, the Asian country has registered 50,618 COVID-19 cases with 247 related deaths. Most of the total confirmed cases were locally transmitted.

Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene has ordered the country's Finance Minister Bold Javkhlan to spend at least 420 billion Mongolian Tugriks (147 million U.S. dollars) annually in 2022-2024 to reduce traffic congestion in the capital, the government's press office said Wednesday.

For many years, traffic congestion has been one of the most pressing issues in Ulan Bator, which is home to around half of the country's 3.3 million population.

The average speed on roads in Ulan Bator is now 13 km/h, and the average driving speed during peak hours is 8.9 km/h, according to data released by the municipal government of the capital city.

It was estimated that residents of the city spend an average of 2.5 hours a day stuck in traffic.

China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia is calling for more comprehensive reporting of cryptocurrency mining, signalling a strong determination to weed out power-consuming activities in the region.

The move comes as the country’s financial regulators have expressed growing concerns over the risks stemming from volatile cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin. And Beijing’s growing distrust over these popular digital assets could pave the way for a broader clampdown on digital mining.

“This is to fully play the role of public supervision,” says a notice released this week by the region’s economic planning agency, which included telephone numbers and email addresses for people to report instances of digital currency being mined.

Inner Mongolia had suspended such mining projects before this month.

The agency listed four crackdown targets: mining enterprises; miners disguising themselves as data centres and accordingly receiving preferential treatment in tax, land and power tariffs; landlords housing mining activities; and those utilising power supplies illegally.

Cryptocurrency mining requires massive amounts of electricity to run the large computer server arrays needed to do the complex calculations required for cryptocurrency transactions, as well as for air conditioning to cool the data centres, so operations have long been attracted to areas such as Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Xinjiang due to low electricity prices.

Inner Mongolia, which is also the country’s second-largest coal producer, is under mounting pressure to meet its energy-saving targets. Meanwhile, a number of thermal power plants in the region have been constrained by the nation’s carbon-neutrality goals. China wants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 65 per cent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels, and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The National Development and Reform Commission has said that China’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product must be lowered by 13.5 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, by 2025. No provincial breakdowns have been revealed yet, but Inner Mongolia aims to reduce its energy intensity by 3 per cent in 2021 while capping its energy consumption growth at 1.9 per cent.

China’s leadership has attached great importance to such endeavours. Speaking at a seminar on Tuesday, Vice-Premier Han Zheng said strict controls must be imposed to curb energy consumption and high-emission projects.

These types of strict energy-saving initiatives are among the strong headwinds that cryptocurrency faces in China. Initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency trading are also banned.

Li Bo, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said at the Boao Forum in Hainan province last month that bitcoin was just an alternative investment, rather than currency, and that authorities were studying how to regulate it.

Meanwhile, the central bank has accelerated the pilot programme for its sovereign digital currency nationwide, as China moves further towards being a cashless society.

On Tuesday, three semi-official financial associations – the National Internet Finance Association of China; the China Banking Association; and the Payment and Clearing Association of China – told their members to steer clear of any cryptocurrency-related financing activities while also warning the public that cryptocurrencies are “not supported by intrinsic value”, and that their prices are “easily manipulated”.

Some banks, including China Citic Bank, had already barred users from trading bitcoin via their bank accounts from last month.

Bitcoin fell to a three-month low on Wednesday, dropping below US$40,000, while ethereum continued its gradual decline in recent days, falling below US$3,000.

By playing off its big neighbors, Russia and China, Mongolia has emerged as a positive outlier among developing nations on the hunt for shots.

Mongolia, a country of grassy hills, vast deserts and endless skies, has a population not much bigger than Chicago’s. The small democratic nation is used to living in the shadow of its powerful neighbors, Russia and China.

But during a pandemic, being a small nation sandwiched between two vaccine makers with global ambitions can have advantages.

At a time when most countries are scrambling for coronavirus vaccines, Mongolia now has enough to fully vaccinate its entire adult population, in large part thanks to deals with both China and Russia. Officials are so confident about the nation’s vaccine riches that they are promising citizens a “Covid-free summer.”

Mongolia’s success in procuring the vaccines in the span of a few months is a big victory for a low-income, developing nation. Many poor countries have been waiting in line for shots, hoping for the best. But Mongolia, using its status as a small geopolitical player between Russia and China, was able to snap up doses at a clip similar to that of much wealthier countries.

“It speaks to the Mongolian ability to play to the two great powers and maximize their benefits even while they are on this tightrope between these two countries,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels.

It is also a win for China and Russia, which have extensive resource interests in Mongolia and ambitions to appear to play a role in ending the pandemic, even when much of the world has expressed deep skepticism over their homegrown vaccines.

Mongolia is a buffer between eastern Russia, which is resource rich and mostly unpopulated, and China, which is crowded and hungry for resources. While Russia and China are often aligned on the global stage, they have a history of conflict and are wary of each others’ interests in Mongolia. Those suspicions can be seen in their vaccine diplomacy.

“Putin is deeply concerned about what China is doing in their neighborhood,” Ms. Fallon said of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.

Russia has sold Mongolia one million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine. China has provided four million doses of vaccine — the final shipment of doses arrived this week. Mongolia’s most recent agreement with China’s Sinopharm Group, which is state-owned, was made days before the company received emergency authorization from the World Health Organization.

Mongolia was late to the global clamber for Covid-19 vaccines. For nearly a year officials boasted that there were no local cases. Then came an outbreak in November. Two months later, political crisis precipitated by the mishandling of the virus led to the sudden resignation of the prime minister. The prospect of continued coronavirus restrictions threatened to throw the country into further political turmoil.

The new prime minister, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, pledged to restart the economy, which had suffered from lockdowns and border closures, particularly in the south, where Mongolian truck drivers ferry coal across the border to China’s steel mills. But these plans were complicated by surging cases, with the daily count going from hundreds a day to thousands.

“We were quite desperate,” said Bolormaa Enkhbat, an economic and development policy adviser to Mr. Luvsannamsrai.

Mongolia approached China and Russia first, the foreign minister said, hoping longstanding economic ties with each country would help move it to the front of the line of countries seeking vaccines. Officials simultaneously explored diplomatic and private channels — putting in requests for donations from rich countries and the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturers.

They contacted price-gouging middlemen, international health organizations and vaccine alliances for poorer countries. One intermediary offered to sell Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for $120 a shot, nearly a quarter of the average monthly salary, Ms. Enkhbat said. Covax, the global vaccine-sharing alliance, which Mongolia signed onto in July 2020, promised doses in the fall or winter.

In early February, Mongolia approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Three days later, China’s Sinopharm Group received approval for its Vero Cell vaccine. Soon after, China donated 300,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine to Mongolia, citing a “profound traditional friendship” as motivation.

Opening up more of the border between China and Mongolia was also a part of the vaccine discussions, Chinese and Mongolian officials said in Chinese state media. Mongolia needs China to buy its coal — exports to the country make up nearly a quarter of Mongolia’s annual economic growth. The revenues helped to pad Mongolia’s budget by a quarter last year.

After a month of back and forth, the Mongolian government struck a deal in March with Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, too, for one million doses of the Sputnik vaccine. Days later, Mongolia finalized an agreement to buy 330,000 additional doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

When there was a last-minute hitch in the delivery of the purchased Chinese vaccines, a call on April 7 between China’s premier, Li Keqiang, and Mongolia’s prime minister, Mr. Luvsannamsrai, helped to smooth things over and reassure both sides. Up to that point, it was still unclear if Mongolia would be able to rely on China or if it would need to return to Russia for more vaccines.

“That’s what paved the way for the rest of the deal,” Ms. Enkhbat said about the phone call, Mr. Luvsannamsrai’s first with Mr. Li. “We laid out the situation and said that we are betting on Chinese vaccines at a time when the rest of the world fully isn’t.”

Mongolia has also secured commitments from AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. So far it has received only 60,000 of the Sputnik vaccine because of manufacturing delays. But the Chinese vaccine will account for a majority of Covid-19 shots for Mongolia’s population.

“We are thankful to our partners, especially China, that they are providing us with vaccinations when they also need it for domestic use,” said Battsetseg Batmunkh, Mongolia’s foreign minister.

The Chinese and Russian embassies in Mongolia did not respond to requests for comment.

In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, 97 percent of the adult population has received a first dose and more than half are fully vaccinated, according to government statistics. Across the country, more than three quarters of Mongolians have already received one shot.

The country’s vaccination effort still faces hurdles. Mongolia is economically dependent on China, and many of its citizens continue to fear its power and influence. When tensions have arisen in the past, China has shut its border and stopped purchasing Mongolian coal.

Mongolians have also expressed a preference for Russia’s Sputnik vaccine. To get the population to take the Sinopharm shot, the government has offered each citizen 50,000 tugriks — about $18 — to get fully vaccinated. The average monthly salary in 2020 was $460.

The terms and pricing of the Sinopharm and Sputnik deals were not made public, and Mongolia’s foreign ministry declined to comment on pricing. Representatives for the Gamaleya Research Institute and Sinopharm did not respond to requests for comment.

While some global health experts have questioned whether Sinopharm will be able to continue to deliver on its commitments overseas, it has delivered all of the doses Mongolia ordered. China has said it can make as many as five billion doses by the end of the year, though officials have warned that the country is struggling to make enough shots for its citizens.

There are also some signs that governments that have chosen the Sinopharm vaccine may have to roll out a third booster shot sooner than expected.

China, for its part, may be playing a long game, said Julian Dierkes, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia who specializes in Mongolian politics. Though many Mongolians may still not trust China, the Mongolian government will remember how it made its vaccines available at a critical moment.

“We could coin a phrase here: ‘The opportunity of smallness,’” he said.

By Alexandra Stevenson

Chair of the Parliamentary Group of the State Great Hural for relations with the European Parliament, MP Mrs.Ts.Munkhtsetseg, and Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Central Asia and Mongolia (DCAS), MEP Mr. F.Martuschello held a virtual courtesy meeting on May 18, 2021. The meeting was also attended by H.E. Mr. O. Och, Ambassador of the Mission of Mongolia to the European Union, H.E. Mr. T.Hristea, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Mongolia, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the EU Delegation to Mongolia.

During the meeting, the two sides noted with satisfaction the expanding cooperation and relationship between Mongolia and the European Union and exchanged views about future cooperation, the establishment of an EU-Mongolian Committee in the European Parliament and the organization of the annual inter-parliamentary consultation meeting, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

Member of Parliament Ts. Munkhtsetseg briefed about the results of the measures taken by the Government of Mongolia to prevent and control the spread of the pandemic, the vaccination campaign progress and the Government’s comprehensive plan of 10 trillion MNT aimed for economic recovery and health protection. MP Munkhtsetseg also emphasized the importance given to the cooperation and relationship with the EU and its member states under Mongolia’s “third neighbour” foreign policy. Hence, pointing the crucial role of establishing an EU-Mongolia Cooperation Committee in the European Parliament to provide parliamentary scrutiny of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to enhance further cooperation in relevant mutual interests.

MP Mrs. Munkhtsetsetseg also pointed out that the Law on the Legal Status of Human Rights Defenders has been adopted in Mongolia. Taking the opportunity, Mrs. Munkhtsetsetseg expressed the wish that once the pandemic situation is mitigated, Mongolia would be happy to host the 14th Inter-Parliamentary meeting between the State Great Hural and the European Parliament in Ulaanbaatar. Mr. Fulvio Martuschiello, Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Central Asia and Mongolia, reaffirmed his commitment to expand cooperation between the EU and Mongolia and discussed about the possibility of holding the 14th Inter-Parliamentary Consultation meeting in November 2021.

At the end of the meeting, Ambassador T. Hristea noted that the cooperation between the EU and Mongolia has been actively expanding in many fields over the past years and underlined that the EU multi-annual indicative programme for Mongolia for the year of 2021-2027 would continue with at the same level of commitment from the EU in line with Mongolia’s long-term development policy Vision 2050.

Source: mfa.gov.mn

In connection with starting the operations of the Chinggis Khaan International Airport located in Khushig Valley from July 1, detailed inspection is being carried out on the airport’s fueling facility.

Safely fueling the aircraft is considered as one of the priority matters for flight safety. The airport’s fuel facility has 4 containers with a capacity of 2,000 cubic meters, and an aviation fuel hydrant system at 6 parking areas of the terminal. The hydrant system has a capacity of pumping 1,000 gallons or 3,780 liters of fuel per minute and simultaneously fueling 3 aircraft.

Thus, in the framework of the preparations being carried out to launch the operations of the new international airport of Ulaanbaatar city, officers of the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia (MCAA) are conducting a comprehensive test to calibrate the fueling equipment, and to inspect occupational safety and health conditions, correlation between tasks, and the capacity of airport staff over the course of three days starting from May 19. A comprehensively equipped laboratory is also being operated to assess the quality of fuel.

MCAA First Deputy-Director B.Altantsom, Head of the National Civil Aviation Center P.Munkhjargal, and other corresponding officials are involved in the inspection.

The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia has issued a travel notice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nationals and permanent residents of Mongolia and foreign nationals of the countries/regions stated in the official Visa Exemption List of Mongolia, which can be found here, are allowed to enter from 10 May 2021.

However, there are certain entry requirements as stated in the travel notice and all passengers are required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test, which must be taken within 72 hours before departure of the first embarkation point.

Moreover, all persons arriving in Mongolia who have not been fully vaccinated against coronavirus infection will be quarantined at designated facilities for 7 days and PCR tests will be taken during the quarantine period. Information on the quarantine facilities can be found at www.tabinfo.mn and contact the listed hotels for reservations.

In the case of PCR test results are positive, the individuals will be transferred to a hospital for treatment. Persons arriving to Mongolia 14 days after receiving the full dose of coronavirus vaccines or those who were diagnosed earlier with a coronavirus infection and fully recovered are exempt from quarantine upon presenting proof of vaccination, antibody test result or other medical document.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, have officially launched the construction of new reactors at two nuclear power plants in China.

The official ceremony, along with bilateral talks, took place on Wednesday via a video link. The event marks the building of four new reactors at two nuclear plants in the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jiangsu. Both plants are reportedly being developed with the use of Russian technology.

“Russian and Chinese professionals are setting in motion a truly signature, flagship joint project,” Putin said during the ceremony, describing the technology as “powerful state-of-the-art Russian-made nuclear reactors compliant with all the safety regulations and the highest ecological standards.”

According to the Russian president, the projects are to be completed by 2026 and 2028, thus “making a great contribution .... to maintaining China’s energy security.”

The Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant is the biggest joint project between China and Russia, signifying the nations’ groundbreaking cooperation in nuclear power. The first two reactors were completed and put into operation in 2007. The third and the fourth blocks were brought into commercial operation in 2018.

The power plant is co-owned by Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, a joint venture partially owned by the China National Nuclear Corporation and Atomstroyexport, the nuclear equipment exporter branch of the Russian corporation Rosatom. When completed, Tianwan will reportedly become the world’s largest such plant, with a total generating capacity of around 8,100 megawatts.