The meeting is being co-chaired by T.Dulamdorj, Deputy Defense Minister of Mongolia, and Mohinder Pratap Singh, Ambassador of the Republic of India to Mongolia, with presence of delegates of the parties.

During the consultative meeting, the parties exchanged views on current state of bilateral cooperation in defense sector and future collaboration issues. They discussed a broad range of issues including training military personnel, conducting joint peacekeeping and special force training and exercise, involving military personnel in English training and cooperating in information technology and military hospital fields.

The parties also decided to organize joint military exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant’ in India this year. In addition, 50 military-purpose parachutes have been donated as non-refundable aid to Mongolian side during the consultative meeting.

The economic growth of Mongolia last year was 6.9 percent, the highest in four years. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects the country's growth to be 6.7 percent this year. Khurelbaatar Chimed, Mongolia's finance minister, cited the country needs buffers to avoid an increasing government debt.

“Three years ago, government debts accounted for 85 percent of our GDP, now [the percentage] is down to 58 percent. We need buffers,” said Chimed, noting that his country has created the stabilization fund and the wealth fund, and it's also necessary to be very careful about expenditure decide for the budget.

Mongolia has identified tourism as a sector that can be developed to diversify its economy and create jobs, setting a goal of hosting one million foreign tourists and making one billion U.S. dollars from the industry in 2020.

More infrastructure is needed, which is beneficial to both local Mongolians and other foreigners, according to Chimed.

China and Mongolia are eager to strengthen relations under the agreed flagship China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC), one of the key corridors under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Chimed cited it is historic for Mongolia to be part of the BRI, indicating that “Mongolia is looking at it [CMREC] as an opportunity and trying our best to be connected with other countries and take advantage of this strategy.”

The week under the theme of "Joint Innovation" is being co-organized by the Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, several universities and other relevant institutions.

The event aims to create cultural innovation and develop creative thinking and innovation skills in public and private organizations in order to promote the development of the country's society and economy, the Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports said in a statement.

In the week, a series of activities will be held in the Mongolian capital city of Ulan Bator, including an exhibition of innovative products, discussions about innovation and a contest to award innovative ideas and projects for business.

Since 2015, the Innovation Week has been annually organized in Mongolia.

Proposed in August 2018, the so-called East Asian Railway Initiative aims to lay the foundation for cross-border reconciliation as well as boosting economies and security in the region. The targeted countries are the two Koreas, Mongolia, China, Russia and Japan.

KRNA said its chairman and CEO Kim Sang-gyun met President Khaltmaagiin Battulga and other top Mongolian officials, to talk about the "realization" of Moon's initiative.

Kim's meetings with Mongolian leaders were part of his two-nation trip, including Russia, from April 19 to 26.

"Mongolia, located at the heart of the Eurasian continent, is a core partner country of the New Northern Policy," Kim said. "It is expected that a further step toward the realization of the East Asian Railway Initiative will be made soon and a wide range of exchanges of railway technology between the two countries will be incorporated in the coming months."

Kim also met Minister of Mongolian Road and Transport Enk Amgalan and Mongolian Railways President Senggel Volt.

Kim agreed to form a working-level committee to strengthen cooperation with Amgalan, while signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Volt.

The MOU includes construction and engineering of the Mongolian Railway Development Master Plan established in 2010, and exchanges of railway technology and personnel.

Accordingly, KRNA will help build the 247-kilometer Tavan Tolgoi-Gashuun Sukhait Railway and the 414.6-kilometer Tavan Tolgoi-Zuunbayan Railway.

KRNA will also co-host the Mongolian Railway Academy with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to train railway experts in Mongolia.

Kim took a trial ride on a Trans-Mongolian Railway train and a Trans-Siberian Railway train.

On his way home, he stopped at Khasan and Vladivostok in the Russian Far East.

In August 2018, President Moon said the railroad community would lead to greater cooperation among the concerned nations, comparing it to the European Coal and Steel Community that laid the foundations for the European Union.

He reiterated his visions for improving inter-Korean ties and economic cooperation, saying that improving inter-Korean relations was a "catalyst for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

In April, the Darkhan-Uul and Bayankhongor branches of the BoM bought 9 kg and 3 kg of gold respectively. The gold purchase increased since the adoption of the bill on amendments to the Law on Mineral Resources at the irregular session of the Parliament. Gold royalty was increased from 2.5 to 5 percent.

Throughout April, average price for a gram of gold stood at MNT 108,757.

Within the project funded by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, India's specialized and experienced physicians will conduct training on on-site surgery, diagnosis and modern trend of surgical services in collaboration with professional team of the hospital.

This collaborative activity, aiming to improve capacity of surgical services in Mongolia, is being held for the second time at this hospital. The Indian physicians will work at the hospital until May 16.

The report showed that Alibaba's brand value has grown 136 percent over the past five years in BrandZ's Top 100, “outperforming the Top 100 overall which increased 92 percent over the same period.”

Since first appearing in the ranking in 2015 following its IPO, Alibaba's rise to the number one spot in 2019 reflects the growth of a brand which has contributed to transformational changes in the Chinese market,” it said.

Alibaba was followed by investment conglomerate Tencent, which increased to $138 billion in value. Huawei, Baidu and JD were also among the 10 most valuable Chinese brands in the rating.

“China's stock market volatility over the past year has provided a real-life stress test for valuable brands, which continued to outperform the market. Put simply, valuable brands deliver superior shareholder returns..,” said David Roth, CEO of WPP Global Retail Business.

He added that “the threshold to enter the BrandZ China Top 100 has more than doubled from $311 million in 2018 to $681 million in 2019.” That has demonstrated the continued pace of growth for Chinese brands increasingly recognized as leading the way in innovation, according to Roth.

“Against a backdrop of heightened competition and disruption, building stronger brands is what it takes to stay in the game,” he said.

The report noted vast potential for further brand growth overseas “as China moves beyond the industrial focus of its Belt and Road initiative” towards establishing leadership in areas including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and green energy.

Tavan Tolgoi Fuel (TTF) LLC has commenced the operation of two factors previously. As of May, three production lines are in operation. They are working to expand the lines to seven. The factories have the capacity to produce more enhanced coal after the expansion. The company was established in May 2018 at the Parliamentary Resolution related to the ban on the usage of raw coal consumption.

220,000 households use 1.2 million tons of raw coal per year during the winter in Ulaanbaatar, according to a survey. TTF has the capability to provide those households with 600,000-700,000 tons of enhanced coal. The coal will be available to the public at 107 locations of ger districts in Ulaanbaatar. Also, the project will involve coal sellers.

"As of Today, Tavan Tolgoi Fuel LLC has produced 60,000 tons of enhanced coal. 490,000 tons of coal will be stockpiled and delivered to stores. In addition to supply and back-up, it is important to teach the proper use of these coal to the public. It is more important to increase the participation of citizens to reduce air pollution. We will provide residents with the opportunity to use enhanced coal. The price will be cheaper than raw coal, and then the controls will be very effective. Additionally, low-pressure and other stoves will be properly filtered. We will also discontinue the combustion of other oils, butter, and tires other than coal. The six districts of the capital city, governor's office, the specialized inspection agency, and the police will conduct regular monitoring in Ulaanbaatar city," said Mayor of Ulaanbaatar Amarsaikhan Sainbuyan.

According to Tavan Tolgoi Fuel LLC, the production remains stable. The company is focusing on production and sales at retail spots. “We have set up the first standard store for selling enhanced fuels. In the future, 107 stores will open. There are 503 people and entities engaged in coal sales in Ulaanbaatar. We will deliver these enhanced fuels via these citizens, entities and 107 reference sales points. At the reference point, about 100,000 tons of fuel will be stocked and sold," remarked a spokesperson of the TTF.

Bawdwin, which in a first phase of operations would be running for 13 years, will be the world’s No. 3 producing lead mine and the tenth largest silver operation It’s also set to become a significant zinc producer.

Capital costs were put at $267 million, including $33 million contingency with operating costs estimated at $108 per processed tonne. The mine will process about two-million tonnes a year of ore to produce 118,000 tonnes of lead-in-concentrate per year, more than 10-million ounces of silver-in-concentrate and 49,000 t/y of zinc-in-concentrate.

“Bawdwin’s mineral reserve and mineral resources underpin a very long life mining operation. The PFS represents our plan for Phase 1 of mining operations and this phase of life-of-mine infrastructure is built and paid for,” the company’s chairperson and CEO, John Lamb, said in a statement.

“With the infrastructure paid for in Phase 1, it is clear that future mining operations, including the first two underground mines now under scoping study, have potential to be very value accretive.”

Construction is expected to take about 21 month, after which the starter pit will begin operations. Underground mining is slated to start around year six of the starter pit.

Modern Mining companies are seeing continual pressures and incentives to improve productivity, efficiency, reliability and safety. To meet these needs, companies are looking to innovate. So what role does Automation, AI, Robotics, Lasers, BIG DATA analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Digitalisation and Digital Transformation play?

Come join us for the launch of our Innovation in Mining Series (IMS).

Our first event in this series is kindly sponsored by Murray Engineering Group. 
Murray Mining Services will be showcasing their very special and innovative product with a brief presentation followed by live demos and samples for viewing on the night. (drinks and finger-food will be provided)

Event Details:

This event is proudly sponsored by Murray Engineering Group as a <Diamond Sponsor>

Date: Tuesday, May 07, 2019
Time: 18:00 - 20:00
Venue: Blue Sky Lounge, Level 23 Blue Sky Hotel & Tower

RSVP: info@austchammongolia.com by 17:00 Monday, May 06, 2019