1 PRIME MINISTER OYUN-ERDENE VISITS EGIIN GOL HYDROPOWER PLANT PROJECT SITE WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      2 ‘I FELT CAUGHT BETWEEN CULTURES’: MONGOLIAN MUSICIAN ENJI ON HER BEGUILING, BORDER-CROSSING MUSIC WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      3 POWER OF SIBERIA 2: ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OR GEOPOLITICAL RISK FOR MONGOLIA? WWW.THEDIPLOMAT.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      4 UNITED AIRLINES TO LAUNCH FLIGHTS TO MONGOLIA IN MAY WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      5 SIGNATURE OF OIL SALES AGREEMENT FOR BLOCK XX PRODUCTION WWW.RESEARCH-TREE.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      6 MONGOLIA ISSUES E-VISAS TO 11,575 FOREIGNERS IN Q1 WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      7 KOREA AN IDEAL PARTNER TO HELP MONGOLIA GROW, SEOUL'S ENVOY SAYS WWW.KOREAJOONGANGDAILY.JOINS.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      8 MONGOLIA TO HOST THE 30TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF ASIA SECURITIES FORUM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      9 BAGAKHANGAI-KHUSHIG VALLEY RAILWAY PROJECT LAUNCHES WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      10 THE MONGOLIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND FDI: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITY WWW.MELVILLEDALAI.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/28      849 ТЭРБУМЫН ӨРТӨГТЭЙ "ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД" БООМТЫН ТЭЗҮ-Д ТУРШЛАГАГҮЙ, МОНГОЛ 2 КОМПАНИ ҮНИЙН САНАЛ ИРҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ХУУЛЬ БУСААР АШИГЛАЖ БАЙСАН "БОГД УУЛ" СУВИЛЛЫГ НИЙСЛЭЛ ӨМЧЛӨЛДӨӨ БУЦААВ WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МЕТРО БАРИХ ТӨСЛИЙГ ГҮЙЦЭТГЭХЭЭР САНАЛАА ӨГСӨН МОНГОЛЫН ГУРВАН КОМПАНИ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     "UPC RENEWABLES" КОМПАНИТАЙ ХАМТРАН 2400 МВТ-ЫН ХҮЧИН ЧАДАЛТАЙ САЛХИН ЦАХИЛГААН СТАНЦ БАРИХААР БОЛОВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ОРОСЫН МОНГОЛ УЛС ДАХЬ ТОМООХОН ТӨСЛҮҮД ДЭЭР “ГАР БАРИХ” СОНИРХОЛ БА АМБИЦ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МОНГОЛ, АНУ-ЫН ХООРОНД ТАВДУГААР САРЫН 1-НЭЭС НИСЛЭГ ҮЙЛДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙД Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ ЭГИЙН ГОЛЫН УЦС-ЫН ТӨСЛИЙН ТАЛБАЙД АЖИЛЛАЖ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     Ц.ТОД-ЭРДЭНЭ: БИЧИГТ БООМТЫН ЕРӨНХИЙ ТӨЛӨВЛӨГӨӨ БАТЛАГДВАЛ БУСАД БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫН АЖЛУУД ЭХЛЭХ БОЛОМЖ БҮРДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     MCS-ИЙН ХОЁР ДАХЬ “УХАА ХУДАГ”: БНХАУ, АВСТРАЛИТАЙ ХАМТРАН ЭЗЭМШДЭГ БАРУУН НАРАНГИЙН ХАЙГУУЛЫГ УЛСЫН ТӨСВӨӨР ХИЙЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     АМ.ДОЛЛАРЫН ХАНШ ТОГТВОРЖИЖ 3595 ТӨГРӨГ БАЙНА WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29    

Events

Name organizer Where
MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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Vladimir Putin met with Prime Minister of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh in Sochi. www.en.kremlin.ru

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister,

Welcome. I am very glad to meet with you again.

Our relations have been developing consistently and steadily. Last year, trade grew by 21 percent, and by another 15 over the first 8–9 months of this year. In addition, our relations continue to diversify, and this is a good sign. They cover engineering, agriculture, mineral fertiliser and, of course, energy. Gazprom has begun to supply liquefied natural gas. Rosneft covers 80 percent of the demand for oil products. Electricity is supplied, too. Agriculture plays an important role in our bilateral trade.

Speaking about energy, we have good opportunities for development, including with third countries. And, of course, Mr Prime Minister, we are ready to promote Mongolia’s dialogue with the Eurasian Economic Union. I know that our Mongolian friends are interested in this dialogue.

I know you have a busy programme in Russia. I am sure that your visit will help develop our bilateral relations.

Thank you.

Prime Minister of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh (retranslated): Thank you, Mr President.

I am very glad to have the chance to meet with you again today.

I would like to pass on the sincerest and warmest greetings from President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga.

I would also like to tell you that Mongolians are very pleased that you attached such importance to the local celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the joint victory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol and went to Mongolia on an official visit to pay tribute to that historical deed of our fathers and grandfathers.

We are also grateful that, following your visit, the status of Russian-Mongolian relations was upgraded to that of friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership. I am pleased to tell you that recently our parliament, the State Great Khural, ratified this treaty on friendly relations and comprehensive strategic partnership.

I fully agree with your opinion that our countries and peoples have enjoyed traditionally friendly relations for many years. In addition, soon we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. I am glad to have the chance to come to Russia on an official visit as Prime Minister of Mongolia on the eve of this important occasion.

Two days ago, I had very fruitful and successful talks with Dmitry Medvedev. We discussed a wide range of issues related to our bilateral relations and cooperation. We coordinated our positions on several issues that had been waiting for a decision for a very long time. During our talks with the Prime Minister of Russia, we discussed issues related to our countries’ cooperation in energy, oil product supplies, gas pipeline construction and other strategic areas of our bilateral relations and cooperation. Of course, we also discussed the further development of our ties in humanitarian areas, in culture and education.

Following my visit, 12 documents were signed, which will serve as the further legal basis for our cooperation. These documents were concluded between our governments, agencies and private companies.

Mongolians respect and remember well that Russians have always cared, supported and helped us during the dark years of our history due to our friendly relations.

I would also like to note that recently the Russian-Mongolian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation has been working more actively and fruitfully

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Two percent of national GDP to be spent on green economy in 2020 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. With the United Nations defining the main tool to reach sustainable development goals as the green economy, Mongolia approved the Green Development Policy document in 2014, and its implementation plan in 2016. As a result, there has been certain progress made in not only the environment but also various economic sectors with the green development policy successfully being implemented in Mongolia. The matter was highlighted at the consultative meeting held under the theme, ‘Green Economy and Modelling’, on December 4.

Mongolia will be implementing the green development policy in two stages: from 2014 to 2021, and from 2021 to 2030. Starting from 2020, two percent of the GDP is to be spent on investing in green economy.

Head of Green Development Policy Department at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism T.Bulgan said, “Production of renewable energy takes 18 percent of the total energy being produced nationwide. We consider that the use of financial mechanisms in partnership with international organizations, and the Green Climate Fund contributed to the results. Despite currently being in their initial stages, there are several projects and programmes being implemented in order to set the foundation for becoming green. For instance, a project on reducing greenhouse gases in the construction sector is currently being implemented in partnership with UNDP with financing of Global Environment Facility. Last year, the concept of green purchases was added to the Law on Procurement of Goods, Works and Services with State and Local Funds. This has served as the start for creating conditions to support environmentally friendly operations, and products through purchases.”

Commercial banks of Mongolia are also partnering in creating sustainable development and green economy development. For instance, as a result of the joint work done to create a sustainable financial system by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and Mongolian Bankers Association, banks have begun to consider the project’s environmental impact when giving out loans.

Director of Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Center B.Lakshmi said, “On the side of the green development policy, it must be noted that private entities are also making initiatives on the matter. For instance, XacBank has acquired the rights to provide financing for green loans. Furthermore, various projects are being implemented in the business sector, such as the projects on eco-parks and recycling paper. As the green development policy is one of the important tools to reach sustainable development goals, a lot of results are expected.”

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Interview: Mongolian diplomat says China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor Tea Road of new millennium www.xinhuanet.com

The China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor is the Tea Road of the new millennium, Mongolia's former ambassador to Russia Luvsandandar Khangai told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Khangain said that in ancient times, "the main commodity transported through the Kyakhta-Maimacheng by the Chinese side was tea, so the trade route began to be called (the) Tea Road."

The final destination of the ancient Tea Road, with a length of about 9,000 kilometers, was Moscow, from where tea was transported throughout Europe, the diplomat said.

Tea, grown and harvested in the southern provinces of China, was delivered to China's northern city of Zhangjiakou and then transported to the southeast Russian town of Kyakhta through Mongolia, Khangain said.

"In other words, the Tea Road stretched from the southern provinces of China through the whole of Mongolia from south to north and almost through all of Russia from east to west," said Khangai.

According to the Mongolian diplomat, goods like tea, silk and porcelain were transported by caravan camels in the past. The number of camels in the caravan sometimes reached 1,000, and each camel carried up to 200 kilograms. They crossed deserts and steppes between Zhangjiakou and Kyakhta in 30-40 days.

The Trans-Mongolian railway follows an ancient tea caravan route from China to Russia and connects Ulan-Ude, on the Trans-Baikal railway in Russia, with the Chinese city of Jining.

Khangai said the Trans-Mongolian railway is like the old Tea Road and has successfully served as a main trade route connecting Europe with Asia.

"I am confident that Mongolia, located between China and Russia, can get huge economic benefits from the development of transport infrastructure along the route of the Tea Road," the diplomat said.

Khangai said he believes the Tea Road within the framework of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor project, covering the most diverse areas of infrastructure development, will not only bring the peoples of the three countries together, but will also have a significant impact on the development of the economy of Mongolia, as well as the regions of China and Russia.

Moreover, the implementation of the trilateral economic corridor will make a significant contribution to the development of integration processes throughout the Eurasian continent, he added.

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Mongolian and Russian companies sign cooperation documents www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ During his official visit to the Russian Federation, Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh attended the signing ceremony of cooperation agreements between Mongolian and Russian businesses.

At the ceremony, corresponding officials signed the following documents:

2020-2021 action plan for cooperation of the working group between Government of Mongolia and Eurasian Economic Commission;
Cooperation agreement between Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation;
Memorandum of cooperation between Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
Protocol on operational principles and mechanisms of Mongolia-Russia Business Council;
Cooperation agreement on the use of Business Market platform between Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
Memorandum of cooperation between Mongol Em Impex Concern and Lasa Laboratorios LLC;
Memorandum of cooperation between Mongolian Quality Management Association and All-Russian Quality Society;
Memorandum of cooperation between Ulaanbaatar Railway Mongolia-Russia joint venture and International Investment Bank.

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Russia’s Trans-Mongolian Pipeline – idea revisited by Putin www.news.mn

Russian giant Gazprom said on Tuesday that it transported a small cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail to Mongolia in November. This represents the first such deal. Russia also launched a the long-awaited “Power of Siberia” gas pipeline on Monday to export natural gas from Siberia to northeast China.

Building a gas or oil pipeline through Mongolia has been discussed since the time of Boris Yeltsin. It is now on the table again and has been discussed at a meeting of the prime ministers of two countries. Mongolian PM U.Khurelsukh is currently visiting Moscow.

Building a gas or oil pipeline through the “Mongolian corridor” would be a relatively economic option to connect Siberia to Beijing and other large cities in China. It will also be the shortest route – even closer than through central Asia or Manchuria. Clearly, building a pipeline across Mongolia would benefit all three countries. The geography of the terrain should be remembered: building a pipeline around Mongolia would require overcoming mountain ranges and will be twice as long and as expensive as building it through Mongolia’s territory. Gazprom’s ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline passes through the Altai Mountains just to the west of Mongolia; construction has been very long and costly. According to the “Petroleum Economist”, in September, President Putin had a meeting with Gazprom boss Alexei Miller, in which he said that a second pipeline via Mongolia would be the cheapest and quickest option.

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Violent protests shut down key Rio Tinto mine in South Africa www.mining.com

Violent protests, often characterized by deadly shootings and barricades of burning tires, are making it harder for the world’s biggest mining companies to operate in South Africa.

Rio Tinto Group shuttered its Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) unit on Wednesday and paused a $463 million expansion project amid escalating violence in surrounding communities that led to an employee being shot and injured. The stoppage will further sap investor sentiment in a country where business confidence is near the lowest level in two decades.

The freezing of the Zulti South project comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa battles to stimulate growth and retain the nation’s last investment-grade credit rating. South Africa’s economy contracted for a second quarter this year in the three months through September as farming, mining and factory output slumped.

The decision to halt operations was preceded by weeks of community protests in the area around the mine, causing “on-and-off disruptions,” said RBM Managing Director Werner Duvenhage. The demonstrations aren’t related to the company, but endanger employees’ lives and require government intervention, he said.

Losses will be “significant,” according to Duvenhage, who said he doesn’t know when RBM will resume operations.

Community disruptions around mines are leading to huge losses for producers, Anglo American Platinum Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Chris Griffith said in October. Many protests relate to the provision of municipal services and housing, while some communities also complain they get few benefits from mines, even as their lives are disrupted by relocations and pollution.

Crime wave
South Africa has also been plagued by xenophobic attacks and violence against women. While Ramaphosa has made combating crime a top priority since taking office, the number of murders climbed to the highest level in at least a decade in the 12 months through March.

Smelters at the site in the KwaZulu-Natal province are operating at a reduced level after an escalation of criminal activity directed at staff, London-based Rio said Wednesday in a statement.

Rio shares were little changed in London trading.

Output for 2019 is expected to be at the low end of a guidance range of 1.2 million to 1.4 million tons and Rio is contacting customers to minimize disruptions. RBM employs about 5,000 staff and contractors, and exports titanium dioxide slag, used to create ingredients for products including paint, plastics, sunscreen and toothpaste.

“We have taken decisive action to stop operations to reduce the risk of serious harm to our team members,” Bold Baatar, Rio’s CEO for energy & minerals, said in the statement.

(By Felix Njini and David Stringer)

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Foreign investors rush into Pakistan, with inflows surging 200% in first half of the year www.rt.com

Pakistan has seen unprecedented inflows of foreign money this year. Global investors bought 1-year bonds worth $642 million in November alone.
That is expected to reach a record $3 billion by the end of the fiscal year as investors are lured by high interest rates and promises of economic reform.

According to Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, financial adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan, foreign direct investment surged 200 percent in the first half of 2019. Stocks have also risen, with the main Karachi stock index up by 13 percent over the past month, making it the best-performing stock exchange of the 94 tracked by Bloomberg.

“A double-digit yield on a cheap currency is a good value trade in itself,” Charles Robertson from Renaissance Capital told Deutsche Welle. “I would recommend investors keep buying Pakistan while it offers double-digit interest rates,” he said.

Robertson added that even central bank rate cuts of a few percent would still make Pakistan interesting. “The current policy choices of Pakistan offer the country the best chance of getting onto a sustainable growth path. Borrowing costs are lower thanks to foreign investors buying government debt.”

Central bank data showed that of 1-year papers bought in November, 55 percent were from the UK and 44 percent from the US.

Habib Bank CEO Muhammad Aurangzeb said that Pakistan plans to issue $1 billion worth of ‘Panda bonds’ in the first quarter of 2020 in the Chinese market for the first time in yuan. A Panda bond is a Chinese renminbi-denominated bond from a non-Chinese issuer, sold in China.

This week, Moody’s upgraded Pakistan’s credit outlook from negative to stable, saying the financial situation is on a path of improvement. It also expressed hope that the help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will mitigate the risks to its economy. Last month, Islamabad secured another tranche from the IMF as part of a $450-million loan package.

The experts at Moody’s said the country’s economic recovery reduces “external vulnerability risks,” but warned that “foreign exchange reserve buffers remain low and will take time to rebuild.”

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Mongolian 'O' visa begins to be issued online www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The Mongolia Immigration Agency has reported that the type O Mongolian visas for foreign citizens arriving upon invitation by NGOs and international humanitarian organizations have begun to be issued online.

In the framework of the national programme ‘e-Governance’, and the agency’s objective to establish ‘Online Immigration’, the Mongolia Immigration Agency is making step-by-step changes to make state services easy, quick and accessible for citizens. More specifically, the service to issue the type J (tourist), B (business), A (official), S (student), and single and multiple-entry business visas have been made available online from May this year.

To access the online service, directly visit https://evisa.mn and create an account to send an electronic visa application. Since putting the online service into operation, the agency has settled applications for visa types J, B, A, S1, S2, as well as multiple-entry visas of over 5,000 citizens.

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Gazprom delivers first batch of Russian LNG to Mongolia www.lngworldnews.com

Russian giant Gazprom has made the first small-scale delivery of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Mongolia.

Gazprom said that the first small-scale delivery of LNG to Mongolia was carried out by Gazprom Export on November 4, 2019.

The delivery was discussed during a working meeting in Moscow between the chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee Alexey Miller and the Prime Minister of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh.

Apart from the first-ever delivery of LNG to Mongolia, the parties discussed the prospects of energy cooperation.

As for the delivery, the first batch of Russian LNG will be used as a vehicle fuel in municipal transport in Mongolia’s capital city Ulan-Bator. According to Gazprom, the batch weighed 36 tons.

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Mongolia mortgage loans benefit 95,000 www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia has provided housing mortgages to 95,000 borrowers since 2013, a senior official of the Mongolian Mortgage Corporation (MIC) said Tuesday.

The Mongolian government started implementing a mortgage loan program in 2013 to increase the affordability and accessibility of apartments for urban residents, particularly young families and those living in ger districts.

"Providing housing mortgages at a rate of 8 percent is also part of the government's efforts to reduce air pollution in the country, especially in the capital city of Ulan Bator," Zorig Munkh-Orgil, first deputy CEO of the MIC, said at a workshop on air pollution and housing.

"A total of 95,000 borrowers have benefited from the housing program. Over 90 percent of them are residents of Ulan Bator," she said.

Air pollution is a pressing challenge for Ulan Bator, where over 800,000 residents, half of its population, live in the city's ger districts, with no running water, central heating or sewerage systems.

Ger residents use stoves and burn raw coal and other flammable materials to cook and keep warm during the region's six-month-long winter, a practice believed to be responsible for an estimated 80 percent of the air pollution in the capital city.

The Mongolian government has been striving to improve air quality in Ulan Bator by taking various measures, including banning the burning of low-grade coal for domestic use.

Housing is said to be one of the long-term solutions for reducing air pollution.

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