In order to support the production of prostheses, orthopedics and special needs equipment for the elderly and the people with disabilities, a certain amount of money will be provided to 'Erkhem Chanar' prosthetic factory of ‘Del Oyu Dul’ company with a term to repay.

'Erkhem Chanar' is a prosthesis factory that meets international standards and has a sanatorium for rehabilitation care and services. It provides services such as fixing and rehabilitating the effects caused by illness and injury, improving mobility, preventing complications, and training in prosthetics and orthopedic devices.

In the last three years, more than 3,000 people have been provided with all kinds of prostheses for the upper and lower limbs, corrective shoes, legs, arm braces, crutches, hearing aids and other devices by the company. During his tenure, Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh got acquainted with the financially distressed company on April 28, 2020 and expressed to provide policy support and had it discussed at the Cabinet meeting. The issue was discussed again at today’s Cabinet meeting and the decision was made to allocate the necessary funds.

The population growth is at an average annual rate of 2.2 percent

At today’s meeting, the Cabinet heard the results of the 2020 nationwide population and housing census. The census counted the country’s population at 3,296,866 and the number of households at 897,427. Since the 2010 population census, the average annual population growth rate has been at 2.2 percent. In terms of population age structure, the share of children aged 0-14 comprised 31.5 percent of the total population, people in the 15-64 age bracket make 64.4 percent while people aged over 65 are 4.1 percent of the population. Around 106,400 people live with some form of disability and they account for 3.3 percent of total citizens of the country.

897.4 thousand households live in 770.9 thousand dwellings. Also, 87.8 percent of all residents aged above 6 uses mobile phones and 64.7 percent are internet users. The nationwide unemployment rate is at 9.9 percent. The areas with highest unemployment rates are Dornod aimag- 20.8 percent, Bayan-Ulgii aimag- 15.2 percent, and Ulaanbaatar city- 14.5 percent.

News in brief

- On April 6, 2021, 36,412 people were vaccinated in the capital city and 50,371 people in rural aimags, bringing the total to 466,946.

- As of April 6, 2021, there are 3,794 people under isolation at 99 isolation facilities nationwide under the monitoring of 170 personnel of emergency agency, 201 police officers and 314 health workers.

- Within the framework of loan to support employment, MNT 346.2 billion has been disbursed to 5,129 borrowers, including 772 entities and 4,357 individuals. Under the long-term repo-financed loan of the Bank of Mongolia, MNT 216.2 billion was disbursed to 1,455 borrowers, of which 1,101 were business entities and 354 were individuals. Moreover, mortgage loan worth MNT 190.9 billion was disbursed to 2,547 borrowers.

The cabinet held its regular meeting on April 7, Wednesday, and heard a presentation on the logistics center for coal loading and a railway in Tavantolgoi coal deposits in Umnugobi aimag. The technical and economic feasibility study and blueprint for the logistics center as well as the construction are scheduled to launch within the second quarter of this year.

Corresponding ministers were charged to reach an agreement with the Chinese side regarding the border crossing and transshipment facilities of Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod border checkpoint and add provisions concerning the border point into the Mongolia-China border railway agreement.

Southern Mongolian province of Dundgovi has launched a campaign to plant trees to combat desertification and reduce land degradation, the provincial department of environment and tourism said Wednesday.

The province have recently launched a campaign to plant at least 80,000 trees across the province by 2022 to reduce the intensity of desertification and land degradation, Munkhsukh Munkhzul, specialist of environmental training and public education at the department, told Xinhua.

The department urges every household to plant at least eight trees and every organization at least 80 trees within the framework of the campaign.

At least 76.8 percent of the Mongolian total territory has been struck by desertification, according to the country's ministry of environment and tourism.

The frequency of climate-related natural disasters such as yellow dust storms have been on the rise in the country due to desertification resulting from climate change, it said.

Dundgovi, located in the Gobi desert region of southern Mongolia, is one of the provinces most affected by desertification.

Around 60 percent of the province's total territory has been affected by desertification, according to the provincial governor's office. Enditem

For the first time ever, the Chinese capital has become the new billionaire center of the world. Beijing gained 33 new billionaires in 2020, bringing its total to 100 and narrowly beating New York City’s 99, according to Forbes.

The annual World's Billionaires List for 2021 showed that the Big Apple added only seven new billionaires in the same time span.

“China bounced back quickly from its pandemic woes, skyrocketing from No. 4 to No. 1 on our annual list,” said the report.

Overall, five Chinese cities ranked among the top 10 globally with the most billionaires. Hong Kong was in third place with 80 billionaires, Shenzhen in fifth with 68, and Shanghai in sixth place with 64. Hangzhou added 21 billionaires, enough to overtake Singapore for the No. 10 spot.

The UK capital, London, also counted seven more billionaire residents, even though it dropped from the fifth spot to the seventh as “the most popular home for ten-figure fortunes.” Rounding out the top 10, Moscow slipped from third place to fourth, while Mumbai and San Francisco – each home to 48 billionaires – tied at No. 8.

According to the report, Beijing’s wealthiest newcomer is 34-year-old Wang Ning, whose booming toy business Pop Mart went public in Hong Kong in December 2020. “Zhang Yiming, Beijing’s richest denizen and founder of social media sensation TikTok, doubled his net worth to $35.6 billion.”

The world's ultra-wealthy got even richer last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic and economic recessions, said the report. Globally, 660 people became new billionaires, bringing the world total to 2,755 billionaires worth a collective $13.1 trillion, per Forbes.

Mongolia reported 575 daily cases of COVID-19 bringing the total number of infection to 12,226 as of April 7.

456 cases were confirmed in Ulaanbaatar, while the rest were confirmed in the regions.

2,480 patients are being treated, 70 of them are in serious and 10 patients are in extremely serious condition.

A total of 6,912 patients recovered with 185 patients recovering in the last 24 hours.

4 new deaths from coronavirus were reported for a day.

Iron ore prices rose on Tuesday, boosted by strong Chinese demand.

According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China (CFR Qingdao) were changing hands for $170.90 a tonne, up 1.43% from the previous trade.

SIGN UP FOR THE IRON ORE DIGEST

China’s steel prices also jumped to record highs, on concerns over supply curbs in the world’s biggest producer and exporter of construction and manufacturing material.

Construction steel rebar’s May contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the daytime trading session 2.1% higher at 5,180 yuan ($791) a tonne, after earlier climbing to 5,200 yuan, the highest on record or since 2011.

PRICES ARE EXPECTED TO HALVE BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR

Production restrictions in China’s top-steelmaking city of Tangshan during the peak demand season have brought down stocks at commercial warehouses and created a “bullish atmosphere” for the market, Sinosteel Futures analysts said in a note.

Iron ore was the best performing commodity in 2020, thanks to China’s early emergence from the pandemic and Beijing’s heavy spending on economic stimulus, particularly infrastructure.

Iron ore price reached its highest level since September 2011 in mid-January, at $174.07 per tonne. The benchmark hit an all-time high of $191.70 in February 2011.

Prices are expected to halve by the end of next year and then gradually decline to reach $72 a tonne in real terms by the end of 2026.

(With files from Reuters)

This year, Mongolia is set to hold the eighth presidential election on June 9, Wednesday.

According to the Law on Presidential Election, the Director of the General Authority for State Registration of Mongolia has issued a decision to suspend citizens’ internal migration nationwide starting April 10 until the end of the day to publicly announce the election results. During this period, there will be no registration of citizens’ movements between different administrative units.

Article 25.1 of the Law on Presidential Elections reads, “Individuals’ internal migration from one to another administrative unit shall be stopped 60 days before the election and shall be resumed the following day of the election results are announced to the public.” During this period, there will be no registration of citizens’ movements to different administrative units countrywide.

Earlier in March, the General Election Commission approved a regulation for the forthcoming election and approved a new rule to manually count all of the machine-counted ballots after the polling is closed at all polling stations in order to verify the accuracy of the results.

On April 6, five systems developed with a view to improve the registration, information, control and tracing system of the livestock and farming industry in the scope of the technical assistances projects undertaken by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were handed over to the MoFALI.

The systems, which are deemed to lay the foundation for the future development of the digital agriculture, include the following, and have become ready for introduction into practice.

Value chain for plants and plant-derived products:

1. Plant origin tracing system,

2. Chemical substances tracing system,

3. General system of laboratories,

Value chain for meat:

4. Operational system for meat factory,

5. Block chain module for meat certificates,

At the hand over event, Minister of Agriculture Z.Mendsaikhan expressed his gratitude for the FAO for implementing major projects to introduce digital technologies into Mongolia’s agricultural industry and cooperation with the government at policy level.

On this day, the MoFALI and FAO signed a new project aimed at creating new employment opportunities for youth in the agribusiness sector.

A memorial complex consisting of the stele of Tonyukuk the Wise, who served as an advisor to three successive khans of the Turkic Khaganate, and a place of sacrifice is located northwest of Bayantsogt Mountain in Erdene soum, Tuv aimag, and 66 km southeast of Ulaanbaatar city. The complex is put under special protection.

Alongside two inscriptions, there is an engraved stone platform, a kurgan stelae with its top part broken, small standing stones, pottery, bricks, and an irrigation system located at the site.

Due to being worn down by years of exposure to the wind and sun as well as damages, some parts are noticeably darker. There are 62-rowed inscriptions on 8 sides of the two monuments. For instance, while the 217-cm-tall first inscription monument has 37 rows of inscription, the second one that stands 243 cm tall has rows 38 to 62.

With the inscription saying, “But should a people, ruled by a kagan in any land whatever, have only worthless men [at its head] what misfortune would it not be for it. For the Turkish Bilge kagan’s people, I have had this written. I the wise Tonyukuk,” it proves that the inscriptions were made when he was still alive. Researchers have also found that the inscription tells about the social situation of that time from Tonyukuk’s viewpoint.

Born of the Ashina noble family from which most powerful aristocrats and noblemen of the Turkic Khaganate were originated, Tonyukuk the Wise lived between the years of 646 to 732. After serving as an adviser for Qapaghan Khan and Kutulug Khan, he continued to work under Bilge Khan until his death at the age of 86. The Turkic Khaganate (or the Gokturk Khaganate) was a ruling Empire in Central Asia in 552-745.

Researchers have been conducting studies on the stele of Tonyukuk since 1897. It is believed that the monument was erected between 720 and 734.

In the framework of a TIKA project on the protection and restoration of Turkic monuments in Mongolia, fences have been constructed for the 1300-year-old stele’s complex, providing protection.

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 5, 2021 – Today, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. Government agency, and the Government of Mongolia celebrated the launch of the $350 million Mongolia Water Compact. The partnership between MCC and the Government of Mongolia directly tackles the impending water crisis in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, with the aim of expanding the sustainable supply of water and enhancing the long-term financial, institutional, and environmental sustainability of the water sector. The Government of Mongolia is also investing up to $111.8 million to support the investment. This significant contribution ranks among the largest ever made by a partner country in the history of MCC. It symbolizes the strong commitment and ownership of the Government of Mongolia to this priority compact.“Access to water is a critical human need. In less than three decades, the population of Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, has nearly tripled in size and the data indicates the city’s demand for water will soon exceed supply,” noted Acting Chief Executive Officer of MCC Mahmoud Bah. “Enhancing water access in an environmentally sustainable way is critical to achieving poverty reduction and economic growth. MCC is proud to mark the compact’s entry into force with our Mongolian partners for this five-year project that aims to improve the quality of life of millions of Mongolians.”The MCC Mongolia Water Compact will increase the available supply of water through the construction of new groundwater wells, a state-of-the-art plant for purifying drinking water, and a new plant for treating and recycling wastewater. The compact will also institute policy, legal, regulatory, and institutional reforms to enhance the long-term sustainability of Ulaanbaatar’s water supply.

“The $350 million grant to the water supply program is one of the largest single commitments the U.S. has made in the region,” said U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia Michael S. Klecheski. “It will bring new jobs over its five-year lifespan and increase Ulaanbaatar’s water supply by 80 percent.”

“We are delighted to celebrate the official start of the implementation of the MCC Mongolia Water Compact with our American partners,” added the Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Challenge Account-Mongolia, E. Sodontogos. “We are confident our partnership will surmount any challenges to successfully implement programs that will pave the way for a sustainable, more economically prosperous future for the Mongolian people.”

MCC provides large grants to developing countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights, as evaluated by MCC’s scorecard. MCC takes a business-like approach, with bedrock commitments to data, accountability, and evidence-based decision making.