After a three-year mining-led boom, landlocked Mongolia’s economy was hit in 2016 by a collapse in foreign investment and declines in the prices of major export commodities like coal and copper, leaving it struggling to pay off debts.

The country reached a $5.5 billion bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year in order to relieve debt pressures and stabilise its tugrik currency.

As part of the deal, Mongolia agreed to impose more discipline on its banking system, raise taxes and bring government spending under control.

But government officials speaking at a forum in Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday said the country would now embark on a 900-day expansionary programme aimed at stimulating the private sector and creating as many as 263,000 jobs.

Bayartsaikhan Nadmid, president of the Bank of Mongolia, told the forum that the bank aimed to create a more favourable environment for businesses this year.