Foreign exchange reserve increases, reaching its highest level www.montsame.mn

Mongolia's foreign trade profit has grown up and reached USD 1.5 billion in the first 11 months of 2019. An increase of the foreign trade profit positively affected to accumulation of foreign exchange reserves. As of November, 2019, foreign exchange reserves reached USD 4 billion.

Ulaanbaatar railway purchases eight locomotives www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Eight locomotives purchased by Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC from the Russian Federation to meet the ever-growing railway transport demand were brought into the country this morning.

Teck to up coal shipping capacity 50% from BC port www.mining.com

Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) announced Wednesday an expanded commercial agreement with Ridley Terminals Inc. (RTI) for shipments of steelmaking coal from Teck’s British Columbia operations.

Cabinet approves agreement between India and Mongolia on Cooperation in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful and Civilian Purposes www. pib.gov.in

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for an Agreement between Government of the Republic of India and Government of Mongolia on Cooperation in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful and Civilian Purposes.

The Agreement was signed at New Delhi on 20 September 2019 during the state visit of the President of Mongolia to India.

Details:

• This Agreement shall enable pursuing the following potential interest areas of cooperation such as, space science, technology and applications including remote sensing of the earth; satellite communication and satellite based navigation; Space science and planetary exploration; use of spacecraft and space systems and ground system; and application of space technology.

• The Agreement would lead to set up a Joint Working Group, drawing members from DOS/ISRO and Communications and Information Technology Authority of the Government of Mongolia, which will further work out the plan of action including the time-frame and the means of implementing this Agreement.

Financial Implications:

The financial arrangements to cover expenses for the co-operative activities undertaken within the framework of this Agreement will be jointly decided by the respective Participants on a case-by-case basis subject to the availability of funds.

Benefits:

Cooperation with and the Government of Mongolia through this Agreement would lead to develop a joint activity in the field of application of space technologies for the benefit of humanity. Thus all sections and regions of the country will get benefited.

Implementation Strategy and Targets:

The signed Agreement would lead to concluding specific implementing Arrangement and setting up of Joint Working Group, to work out the plan of action including the time-frame and the means of implementing this Agreement.

Impact:

The signed Agreement will provide impetus to explore newer research activities and application possibilities in the field of remote sensing of the earth; satellite communication; satellite navigation; space science and exploration of outer space.

Background:

• Department of Space (DOS) and the Mongolian Ministry of Infrastructure signed an 'Agreement for cooperation in space science, technology and applications' on January 15, 2004. Apart from training of Mongolian officials on space technology application, no major cooperative activities have been taken up. When our Embassy in Mongolia was contacted for reviving the cooperation, it is understood that Mongolian Ministry of Infrastructure is abolished and the space activities are presently handled by Communication and Information Technology Authority (CITA) of Mongolia.

• Embassy has further mentioned that, b high level delegation from Mongolia is expected to visit India during September 2019 and space cooperation would be one of the agenda. Embassy requested ISRO to share a draft Agreement on space cooperation for further taking up with CITA. Accordingly, a draft Agreement for India-Mongolia Space cooperation was drafted and shared with

Embassy, with approval of Chairman, ISRO/ Secretary, DOS. Subsequently, Mongolian side has given its concurrence and both sides have arrived at workable version and proposed to sign the agreement during high level delegation visit from Mongolia.

Full stream ahead: Russia & Turkey launch TurkStream gas pipeline www.rt.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have launched the long-anticipated offshore pipeline TurkStream, that will deliver Russian gas to Turkey and further to southern European states.
The 930 km pipeline across the bottom of the Black Sea became operational on Wednesday, with the two leaders attending a special opening ceremony. Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissovalso participated in the event, as the leaders symbolically launched the project from the stage.

"The supply of Russian gas through TurkStream will undoubtedly be of great importance not only for the economy of Turkey and the Black Sea region, but will also have a positive impact on the development of many South European countries, and will contribute to improving the energy security of Europe in general,” Putin said. He also thanked his Turkish counterpart for the “political will” that was necessary to implement such a massive initiative.

As Russia remains the main gas supplier for Turkey, the countries will implement new joint energy projects, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Wednesday. Russia is also involved in another massive energy project in Turkey, Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP), which is set to become operational later this year.

In his remarks at the inauguration ceremony, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the launch of one of “largest construction projects in modern history” marks a “historic day” for the world energy development as a whole.

TurkStream is the “Silk road of the energy world” and a big step forward for Turkey, as well as a cornerstone of the relations between the two nations, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez told the audience.

The TurkStream natural gas pipeline was created as an alternative to the South Stream pipeline after Bulgaria ditched the project in 2014, under pressure from the US. The two-string TurkStream boasts the total capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters, with one line supplying Turkey and the other transferring the blue fuel to southern and southeastern Europe.

RT
In a last-ditch effort to stop Russia’s energy projects, US President Donald Trump signed into law the massive National Defense Authorization Act in late December. According to the document, companies involved in the construction of both TurkStream as Nord Stream 2 could face US penalties unless they quit the Russian projects.

However, unlike Nord Stream 2, the offshore section of the TurkStream had been already completed by that time. Ankara has also vowed to retaliate against any US sanctions.

pipeline to get the gas supplies from Russia. In late December, Bulgaria announced its readiness to receive natural gas from Russia’s Gazprom via Turkey. The new route is more economically viable for the country and could make gas cheaper for its consumers by around 5 percent, according to the country's Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova.

Serbia is also looking forward to getting Russian gas supplies and has already completed its section of the pipeline. But the country is not directly linked to the pipe, and will have to wait until neighboring Bulgaria extends TurkStream to its border. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier accused Sofia of deliberately delaying the construction of its section, warning that Moscow can find ways to bypass its territory, if necessary.

“This pipeline will allow Serbia to get gas at decent prices, better than we’ve had been so far,” Serbian President Vucic said on Wednesday, as cited by the local media. He noted that the project would allow Serbia to attract more investment and develop industrial production.

Serbia’s northern neighbor Hungary also wants to use the TurkStream natural gas pipeline to diversify national energy supplies. Budapest hopes that Sofia and Belgrade will finish their legs of the project in time, allowing it to get the first Russian gas supplies in 2021.

Airfares for four routes by MIAT lowered www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. It has been recently reported that Mongolian national flag carrier MIAT Mongolian airlines lowered its ticket prices by 15-37 percent. The MIAT Company emphasized that four routes carried out by the airline are subject to price reduction, including;

Hedge Fund to be set up to stabilize price of AI-92 gasoline www.montsame.mn

At its regular meeting held today, January 8, the Cabinet made a decision to set up Hedge Fund in order to keep the price of AI-92 gasoline stable.

Exploration licenses cover 3.8 percent of territory of Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The Implementing Agency of Mongolian Government Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority released the latest report on the activities of special license for mining as of November 2019.

MFA expresses concern over Middle East conflict www.zgm.mn

The series of conflict between Iran and the U.S that have made headlines had provoked outrage across Mongolia. Despite the Iranian side used Mongolia’s history and one of the greatest kings to compare with the threatening acts of the U.S, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) showed a neutral position. “Mongolia is concerned about the situation in the Middle East. We hope the issue will be settled by negotiation. The matter included Mongolia is not a priority to pay attention to. We are working diplomatically,” Sarantogos Erdenetsogt, Director­General at Department of Asia and the Pacific, MFA. Following the U.S President Donald Trump’s threatening statement to destroy 52 targets in Iran, including cultural sites, Iranian Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari­Jahrom has likened him to dictators who eliminate the culture of a country. “Like ISIS, like Hitler, like Geng­his! They all hate culture. Trump is a terrorist tie! We will soon learn from history that nothing can de­feat Culture and the Great Iranian Nation,” Jahromi said on Twitter Sunday.

Controversy continues regarding pension loan repayment www.zgm.mn

The bill, which includes a one­time settlement of all pension loan repayment, is followed by a huge disagreement, leaving uncertainty among citizens. There are several reasons and facts that the bill is not the best option for pensioners. The cabinet on Monday agreed to submit Bill on full and one­time repayment of pension loans to the Parliament. As published previously on the Official Gazette, repayment of the pension loan will be financed from the future revenue of Salkhit silver and gold deposits owned by Erdenes Mongol LLC. According to the bill, the Government plans to raise funds by issuing securities; technically, the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) will in charge of the funds. However, the central bank can not be included in such budgetary activities due to the IMF’s ongoing program requirement. Thus, the government estimates Salkhit deposit has the recourse of 808.3 tons of silver, 1.1 tons of gold and net profit of MNT 1.1 trillion. Regardless of the fact, it was reported that the company has a net profit of MNT 251 billion and a current value of MNT 122 billion in the Feasibility Study approved in 2019.The Development Bank of Mongolia (DBM)’s guarantee is violating the "Law on Development Bank of Mongolia” as well. In article 12.2 of the law, “Guarantees can be made to projects and programs that meet the requirements specified in 10.1.2­10.1.5 of this law.”