Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) distributed food parcels and hygiene products to 2000 families in Mongolia in order to support the fight against COVID-19.

As part of the project implemented by TİKA, a total of 2,000 food parcels were distributed to the General Authority for Development of Persons with Disabilities and low-income families in the municipalities of Bayangol, Bayanzürkh, Nalaikh, Khan Uul, Songino Khairkhan, Sükhbaatar, and Chingeltei in Ulaanbaatar. The food parcels were delivered to families at a ceremony held on “Tsagaan Sar (White Moon),” the most important national holiday in Mongolia.

The ceremony was attended by Zülfikar Sarkıt, Mongolia’s Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection; Emrah Ustaömer, TİKA’s Ulaanbaatar Coordinator; and the representatives of the social welfare agencies of municipalities.

In his speech at the ceremony, Zülfikar Sarkıt, Mongolia’s Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection, said, “TİKA always supports Mongolia by implementing projects in different fields. Low-income families needed food aid due to the COVID-19 lockdown imposed in the country. As our Ministry could not provide sufficient food aid to these families, we submitted our request to TİKA. Thankfully, TİKA accepted our request. We are very pleased with this support, which is provided on a religious holiday that is very important for the people of Mongolia and celebrated by sharing food as a ritual. We would like to thank the Government of Turkey and TİKA.”

Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in Mongolia has increased to 2,693, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Monday.

A total of 55 new locally transmitted cases were detected in the country's capital Ulan Bator in the last 24 hours, the NCCD said in a statement.

Meanwhile, 69 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 1,933, it added.

The Asian country has so far recorded six coronavirus-related deaths since confirming its first case in March 2020. Enditem

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. In January 2021, the consumer price index at the national level rose by 1.0% from the previous month and increased by 2.4% from the same period of the previous year.

The 2.4% increase in the CPI from the same period of the previous year was mainly contributed by 8.4% rises in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages group (non-alcoholic beverages by 5.1%), 4.2% rises in prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco group, 3.4% rises in prices of clothing, cloth and footwear group, 3.8% rises in prices of medicine and medical service group, though the prices of housing, water, electricity and fuels group dropped by 6.3% (electricity, gas and other fuels decreased by 12.3%), and prices of transport group decreased by 5.2%.

The 1.0% increase in CPI from the previous month was mainly due to a 1.5% increase in prices of housing, water, electricity, and fuels group (electricity, gas and other fuels by 2.3%), 2.8% increase in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages group (meat and meat products by 4.4%), 0.1% increase in prices of clothing, cloth and footwear group, and 0.3% increase in prices of medicine and medical service group.

The inflation rate was 6.9% in January 2018, 7.3% in January 2019, 5.6% in January 2020, and 2.4% in January 2021, with a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from the same period of the previous year.

In terms of group contribution of price changes of goods and services groups to 2.4% inflation rate in January 2021, 2.2 units (91.7%) were contributed from the change in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages group.

The prices of 373 items were collected for the consumer goods and services basket at the national level, whilst the prices of 344 items were collected for the goods and services basket in Ulaanbaatar. From 373 items of goods and services, 200 items are imported goods and services, which account for 45.5% of the total weight.

In January 2021, 37.5% of the 2.4% inflation rate was mainly contributed by the increase in prices of imported goods and services, while the contribution of prices of imported goods and services was the same as January 2020.

Source: National Statistics Office

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. By preliminary results of January 2021, the gross industrial output reached MNT 1.6 trillion, increased by MNT 415.9 billion (35.8%) from the same period of the previous year.

This increase was mainly due to MNT 325.6 billion (42.8%) increase in mining and quarrying gross output and MNT 79.7 billion (30.7%) increase in manufacturing output. Also, the output of electricity, gas, steam, air conditioning supply increased by MNT 9.8 billion (7.5%) and the output of water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities increased by MNT 777.2 million (7.2%) from the same period of the previous year.

By preliminary results of January 2021, the mining and quarrying gross output reached MNT 1.1 trillion, increased by MNT 325.6 billion (42.8%) from the same period of the previous year. This increase was mainly due to increases in the mining of metal ores by 65.2 billion (14.9%), extraction of crude petroleum by MNT 12.8 billion (21.1%), and mining of coal and lignite by MNT 257.1 billion (2.1 times) from the same period of the previous year.

The gross industrial output decreased by MNT 210.8 billion (11.8%) from the previous month. This decrease was mainly due to MNT 231.7 billion (17.6%) decrease in mining and quarrying gross output. By preliminary results of the mining and quarrying sector in January of 2021, extraction of copper concentrate, gold, fluorspar, crude oil, and hard coal increased by 0.3% to 2.0 times compared to the same period of the previous year. In the manufacturing sector, production of main products such as lime, alcohol, soft drinks, juice, milk, flour, meat, refined coal increased by 1.1% to 2.7 times compared to the same period of the previous year. Also, the production of coal briquettes and face masks increased by 79.1% to 7.9 times more compared to the same period of the previous year.

Source: National Statistics Office

The past year is one that few of us will forget. While the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have played out unevenly across Asia and the Pacific, the region has been spared many of the worst effects seen in other parts of the world. The pandemic has reminded us that a reliable and uninterrupted energy supply is critical to managing this crisis.

Beyond ensuring that hospitals and healthcare facilities continue to function, energy supports the systems and coping mechanisms we rely on to work remotely, undertake distance learning and communicate essential health information. Importantly, energy will also underpin cold chains and logistics to ensure that billions of vaccines make their way to the people who need them most.

The good news is our region’s energy systems have continued to function throughout the pandemic. A new report Shaping a sustainable energy future in Asia and the Pacific: A greener, more resilient and inclusive energy system released today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) shows the energy demand reductions have mainly impacted fossil fuels and depressed oil and gas prices. Renewable energy development in countries across the region, such as China and India, has continued at a healthy pace throughout 2020.

As the Asia-Pacific region transitions its energy system to clean, efficient and low carbon technologies, the emergence of the pandemic raises some fundamental questions. How can a transformed energy system help ensure our resilience to future crises such as COVID-19? As we recover from this pandemic, can we launch a “green recovery” that simultaneously rebuilds our economies and puts us on track to meet global climate and sustainability goals?

A clean and sustainable energy is central to a recovery from COVID-19 pandemic. By emphasizing the importance of the SDGs as a guiding framework for recovering better together, we must focus on two critical aspcets:

First, by making meaningful progress on the SDGs, we can address many of the systemic issues that made societies more vulnerable to COVID-19 in the first place – health, decent work, poverty and inequalities, to name a few.

Second, by directing stimulus spending to investments that support the achievement of the SDGs, we can build back better. If countries focus their stimulus efforts on the industries of the past such as fossil fuels, we risk not creating the jobs we need, or moving in the right direction to achieve the global goals that are critical to future generations. The energy sector offers multiple opportunities to align stimulus with the clean industries of the future.

The evidence shows that renewable energy and energy efficiency projects create more jobs for the same investment as fossil fuel projects. By йincreasing expenditure on clean cooking and electricity access, we can enhance economic activity in rural areas and bring modern infrastructure that can make these communities more resilient and inclusive, particularly for the wellbeing of women and children.

Additionally, investing in low-carbon infrastructure and technologies can create a basis for the more ambitious climate pledges we need to reach the Paris Agreement targets of a 2-degree global warming limit. On this note, several countries have announced carbon neutrality, demonstrating a long-term vision and commitment to an accelerated transformation to sustainable energy. Phasing out the use of coal from power generation portfolios by substituting with renewables, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and implementing carbon pricing are some of the steps we can take.

The COVID-19 crisis has forced us to change many aspects of our lives to keep ourselves and our societies safe. It has shown that we are more adaptive and resilient than we may have believed. Nevertheless, we should not waste the opportunities this crisis presents for transformative change. It should not deflect us from the urgent task of making modern energy available to all and decarbonizing the region’s energy system through a transition to sustainable energy. Instead, it should provide us with a renewed sense of urgency.

We must harness the capacity of sustainable energy to rebuild our societies and economies while protecting the environment in the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Op-Ed by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary- General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, India sent 13 boxes of COVID-19 vaccine to Mongolia on Sunday.

The vaccine was sent from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai to Mongolia.

New York (CNN Business)Copper prices climbed to their highest level in nearly a decade Friday as investors in the commodity anticipate rising demand for infrastructure and construction projects in the post-pandemic economy.

On Friday, the price of copper climbed above $4 per pound for the first time since September 2011.

The base metal is used in many construction materials, including electrical wires and water pipes. The uptick is being driven by short and long term optimism for the commodity due to both strong expected demand and supply constraints.

With the full reopening of the US economy on the horizon and President Joe Biden's plan to invest heavily in America's infrastructure, as well as China's ongoing economic recovery, there is reason to believe copper demand will remain high.

China's economy grew 2.3% in 2020. Although it was that nation's slowest annual growth rate since the 1970s, it was also a welcome positive surprise after the world experienced its worst economic shock in recent memory.

China is an important puzzle piece for copper prices because it's such a big consumer of the metal. Demand is so high that inventories there are at their lowest level in nearly 10 years, according to commodity analysts at BCA Research.

Demand from China was the main driver of copper prices last year but "as consumption from the Asian country has slowed in recent months, the recovery has broadened," commodity analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) said last month. And that's a good sign for prices in the long run: every nation needs copper for their recovery.

The BofA analysts think prices can rise above $4.54 "at some stage."

The main risk to copper's success story is a delay to the reopening of the economy caused by hiccups in vaccine efficacy or a renewed increase in infections.

The number of China-Europe freight trains traveling via Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, surpassed 300 this year, local railway authorities said.

The 317 trains carried 32,344 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of goods, up 66.84 percent year on year, according to the Erenhot Customs.

The overall volume of goods transported by the freight trains via the port during the period edged up 73.52 percent year on year to 268,800 tonnes, with the import and export values exceeding 4.35 billion yuan (about 673 million U.S. dollars).

Erenhot Port, an important channel for international cargo in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has 44 China-Europe freight train routes passing through it.