-The draft parliamentary resolution on 'Approval of a five-year guideline for the development of Mongolia in 2021-2025' will be submitted to the Parliament. Once the draft resolution is approved, priorities and activities of mid-term development will become clear, and real conditions will be created to implement long-term development policy.

- It resolved to establish a Directorate for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. It will function as a key supporter to ensure goals stated in Mongolia's long-term development policy, 'Vision 2050,' outlining “to "create a middle class rooted on households engaging in micro, small and medium-sized businesses as well as self-sufficient and contented living conditions." There are more than 62,000 small and medium enterprises in Mongolia. The sector employs over 800,000 people, producing about 17 percent of GDP.

- It was resolved to establish the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Prime Minister of Mongolia. The Committee aims to provide quality, equal and accessible physical activities and services to the people and improve the competitiveness and achievement of athletes to the continental, world and Olympic levels based on scientific and technological advancements.

At least one person dies of the plague every year in the landlocked Asian country, where the rare bacterial disease is usually spread by fleas clinging to the hair of the marmots native to the region.

The government has responded with campaigns to discourage people from eating the large rodents.

Officials said a man died on Tuesday night in the latest case, which is still to be confirmed by laboratory tests.

More than 70 people in close contact with the 42-year-old, who had bought two dead marmots before he fell ill, will now be tested and undergo quarantine.

It comes weeks after a 15-year-old boy also succumbed to the disease in a neighbouring province of Mongolia.

Health officials in China have also reported two similar deaths from its side of the border this month – one from bubonic plague, and another caused by the rare pharyngeal plague.

The recent cases prompted Russia's nearby Burytia region to test rodents for the bubonic plague and urge residents not to hunt or eat marmots.

Hunting the mammals is illegal in Mongolia, but many people in rural areas believe that their meat is good for health.

Source: AFP/dv

Compared to the same period of the previous year, newly registered unemployed decreased by 1.1 thousand persons (17.6%), while the number of persons removed from the unemployment register due to inactive job seeking decreased by 0.3 thousand persons (4.5%).

At the end of July 2020, the number of registered job seekers reached 28.1 thousand, of which 18.0 thousand (64.3%) were registered as unemployed and the remaining 10.0 thousand (35.7%) were employed but looking for a new job.

Registered unemployed decreased by 4.4 thousand (19.5%) from the same period of the previous year and decreased by 1.5 thousand (1.1%) from the previous month. Out of the total registered unemployed, 9.3 thousand or 51.5% were women.

Source: National Statistics Office

External debt accounted for 54.6 percent of total government debt in 2015, but the share of external debt increased every year, hitting 85.5 percent in 2019, according to "Economic Security" survey released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Fiscal Stability Law initially required the government debt ratio to GDP to maintain at 40 percent. However, the law was amended in 2015 and 2016, increasing the debt ratio to GDP to 60 percent and put off the entry into force to 2021.

The government debt ratio to GDP was 1.6 times higher than the original 40 percent limit in 2015, 2.3 times higher in 2016, 2 times higher in 2017, 1.7 times higher in 2018, and 1.6 times higher in 2019.

Total repayments reached equal to 46.3 percent of budget revenues and 12 percent of GDP in 2015, while in 2017, it reached a record high of equal to 82.3 percent of budget revenues and 27.6 percent of GDP.

In 2021-2024, the following outstanding debts for government-issued bonds are expected to be repaid:

Mazaalai bond - USD 500 million,

Chinggis bond - USD 1 billion,

Khuraldai bond USD - 600 million,

“Gerege bond” - USD 800 million.

Russia’s initiative is in line with other countries, such as the United States, which are also trying to curb their reliance on China, home to 63% of global rare earths production and 37% of global reserves.

China’s dominance is so established, it is hard to weaken.

Russia has reserves of 12 million tonnes, or 10% of the global total, and its government is willing to back any foreign investment.

Alexei Besprozvannykh, Russia’s deputy industry and trade minister, said Russia is offering reduced mining taxes and cheaper loans to investors in a list of 11 projects designed to increase Russia’s share of global rare earths output to 10% by 2030 from 1.3% now.

The Russian projects will require at least $1.5 billion in investment, he said.

China will keep its market dominance, but Russia’s “goal is to be at least the second after them by 2030,” Besprozvannykh told Reuters in an interview.

So far rare earth processing is almost totally controlled by China, with the exception a plant in Malaysia, operated by Australia’s Lynas Corp, and the U.S. is reviving production.

The 11 projects, which include developing the Tomtor deposit in Russia’s far east, will allow Russia to become almost self-sufficient in rare earth elements by 2025 and start exports in 2026, the deputy minister said.

By 2024, Russia’s production of rare earths concentrate may reach 7,000 tonnes a year, he added. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated Russia’s 2019 production at 2,700 tonnes.

(By Anastasia Lyrchikova, Gleb Stolyarov and Polina Devitt; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Barbara Lewis)

In response to the Government of Mongolia’s request to help Mongolians abroad in situations of vulnerability due to COVID-19-related border closures, IOM missions in Mongolia and Czechia facilitated the movement.

The Mongolian nationals returned home through IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) program and this latest movement brings the total number of Mongolians assisted to return home by IOM, to 6,300 since 2011.

All returnees had been stranded in Europe since January 2020 when the Government of Mongolia took strict measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including imposing international travel restrictions. Given the high demand for return from Mongolian nationals stranded in Czechia, IOM worked with its government partners in Czechia and Mongolia paying close attention to individual vulnerability circumstances, including 10 children and more than 50 elderly persons.

Through the support of and close coordination with the government authorities, partners and IOM teams, MIAT Mongolian airlines operated the flight from Ulaanbaatar to Prague and Prague to Ulaanbaatar and as is the norm currently with repatriation flights, brought to Prague those passengers who requested to leave Mongolia in compliance with COVID-19 preventive and protection measures.

“Although it was a very complex exercise that involved coordination with multiple partners in Czechia and Mongolia, we are very happy that Mongolian citizens are going back home to see their loved ones again after such a long and uncertain absence,” said Petr Karban, IOM Chief of Mission in Czechia. “But it is not only that. As soon as the returnees are able to leave mandatory quarantine and self-isolation, we will start working with our colleagues in Ulaanbaatar to support their reintegration.”

All the returnees will be tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. According to the regulations set by the Government of Mongolia, they will stay in mandatory quarantine for three weeks and self-isolation for two weeks, which will also be paid for through AVRR program.

The movement was funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Interior of Czechia.

For more information, please contact Petr Karban at pkarban@iom.int and + +420-775965573 and Erkhem Munkhbayar at emunkhbayar@iom.int and +976-88101117.

Currently, over 12,000 Mongolians who are stranded in foreign countries have applied to return on charter flights.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Andrei Mikhnev congratulated the Speaker of the Parliament G.Zandanshatar on his re-appointment to a responsible high-ranking position and handed over a congratulatory letter from the Vice President of the World Bank Group.

“The 2020 parliamentary elections clearly showed that the Mongolian people and voters have high confidence in the Mongolian People's Party (MPP) and the Parliament and Government formed as a result of the vote. We are ready to cooperate with the Parliament and the Government of Mongolia,”said Mr. Mikhnev. Mr. Mikhnev also stressed that with the new Parliament and government in place, Mongolia has a unique opportunity now to advance bold structural reforms.

The sides exchanged views on the outcomes of World Bank-funded projects and programs in Mongolia and future cooperation and the government response to the COVID-19 crisis, including recent stimulus measures and the proposed Government Action Plan and budget amendments.

Mr. Mikhnev said that the World Bank has prepared policy recommendations, which address key development issues of Mongolia, and introduced it to the newly established Government. Mr. Mikhnev presented the document to the Speaker and exchanged views on them.

The Speaker thanked for the submission of the comprehensive policy recommendations, which meet the priorities of the country’s long-term development policy. “An irregular session of the Parliament will open on August 17 with an intent to discuss the Government plans and platform until 2024 and their implementation. Mongolia's economy is much dependent on the mining sector, and it needs to develop its manufacturing sector and undergo significant reforms to diversify its economy. To achieve this goal, we are ready to cooperate with the World Bank," said the Speaker.