MONGOLIA – Weekly press review 12 April 2021

COVID-19

As of 12 April, total number of confirmed cases reached 15 718, the total number of recovered patients was 9 516 and total number of COVID-19 related deaths was 29.Ikon(In MNG). COVID-19 interactive dashboard is available inMongolianandEnglish.Vaccination:As of 12 April, 599 132 people have received the first dose of the vaccine and 850 people received the second dose. Ikon(In MNG)A 15-day strict lockdown (Red level) imposed between 10-25 April. Residents are encouraged to shop in their neighbourhoods and no more than 5 people are allowed in any social gathering. Public transport will operate only for employees of essential organizations under limited timetable and restrictions will apply to movement of private vehicles. The following businesses and services are permitted to operate:

• Healthcare organizations, pharmacies, medical equipment distribution organizations
• Gas and fuel supply
• Food production, trade, distribution, supermarkets, hypermarkets, minimarkets, grocery stores, wholesale trade, online retail services and delivery
• Sterilization, disinfection and cleaning services
• Online banking services, ATM
• Post office, communications, media
• Funeral services
• Hay and fodder distribution and transportation. Montsame

Charter flights will be organised to Seoul on 14, 21, 23 (transit), 26 and 27 April; Tokyo on 13 April; Frankfurt 15 and 29 April. Montsame

EU - Mongolia

EU, UNFAO and Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry will continue to support employment creation in agriculture sector: On 6 April, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI) and FAO signed a new project aimed at creating new employment opportunities for youth in the agribusiness sector. This project is part of the larger EU funded technical assistance project 'SDG aligned budgeting to transform employment in Mongolia' that will be jointly implemented by the UNDP, FAO, and the ILO. EU Delegation

Nogoonbaatar Eco Art Festival aims to change the critical situation of air pollution: The festival is staged in the Ger District, notorious for heavy pollution through coal burning. 'Nogoonbaatar' International Eco-Arts Festival is held from 5 March to 26 April 2021 with an aim to change public attitudes through art, making their lifestyles more environmentally friendly, and raising awareness about environmental issues, especially air pollution. The festival is co-sponsored by the European Union's Institutes of Culture, the EU Delegation to Mongolia, the Embassy of the Czech Republic, the Alliance Française in Ulaanbaatar and the German Cultural Centre in Mongolia. Gogo(In MNG)

Nogoonbaatar Eco Art Festival and 'Switch Off Air Pollution' project to collaborate: Within the framework of the 'Nogoonbaatar' Art Festival, the brigades of the 'Switch Off Air Pollution' project have started to insulate the house in the 'Nogoon Nuur' park and will jointly organize trainings on reducing air pollution, easy insulation of private houses and awareness of the importance of insulation.Montsame

German Sparkassenstiftung Mongolia donated minibus to support financial literacy project: With the purpose of the ensuring the effective implementation of the Public Financial Literacy Program, the Bank of Mongolia and the German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation signed a gift agreement to donate a minibus and equipment to Mongolia for supporting the organization of financial literacy training for people living in rural and remote areas of the country. Montsame

iVolunteer platform relaunched: With the financial support from the European Union and the Canada Fund, ivolunteer.mn platform has been revived and relaunched under the 'All for YOUth, YOUth for all' project. This website serves as an online platform that connects volunteers and volunteer-seeking organizations. Visit here.

Call for proposals business and human rights small grant for civil society organizations: UNDP is implementing since 2020 the project Business and Human Rights in Asia: Enabling Sustainable Economic Growth through the Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework, that is funded by the European Union Partnership Instrument. In this context, UNDP is going to provide a small grant support to the civil society organizations engaged in human rights protection, recognition and advocacy in Mongolia, in greater context of defending human rights abuses from businesses and industrial operations. For more information, click here.

Political and Internal Developments

Mongolia to reopen air border from 1 May to resume international passenger flights. Only fully vaccinated people are allowed to enter the country. Montsame

Mongolia becomes first Asian country to adopt law protecting human rights defenders: Parliament of Mongolia adopted a Law on Legal Status of Human Rights Defenders. The law aims to establish legal grounds for respect, protection, promotion, and fulfilment of the rights of human rights defender through identifying actions, rights and prohibitions apply to human rights defenders as well as common obligations of state organizations and officials, non-governmental organizations, and business entities, and protection mechanism for human rights defenders. Montsame

President asked Prime Minister to cooperate to support households during the lockdown:The proposal of President Battulga sets out to allocate MNT 1 million (EUR 294) monthly allowance to each household of Mongolia, of which MNT 200 000 (EUR 59) is expected to be distributed in cash and MNT 800 000 (EUR 235) in forms of vouchers for purchasing goods and products, except for alcohol and tobacco, only from national producers. The President proposed to finance this initiative through illegal offshore assets worth MNT 4 trillion (EUR 1.18 million) and called the government to cooperate in exposing corruption and support households. Montsame

MNT 300 000 (EUR 82) to be provided to each citizen under the lockdown relief initiative: The Prime Minister underscored that the decision has been made to distribute tax income from Oyu Tolgoi LLC to citizens to ensure the vaccinated stay home and keep from going outside until their vaccines take full effect within 14 to 21 days as recommended by the World Health Organization. Montsame

Construction of Tavantolgoi coal logistics centre to start in Q2 2021: The technical and economic feasibility study and blueprint for the logistics centre as well as the construction are scheduled to launch within the second quarter of this year. Corresponding ministers were charged to reach an agreement with the Chinese side regarding the border crossing and transhipment facilities of Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod border checkpoint and add provisions concerning the border point into the Mongolia-China border railway agreement. Montsame

Rio Tinto pays taxes worth of USD 277 million to Mongolia: Since 2010, Oyu Tolgoi has paid USD 2.8 billion in taxes and royalties to governments in Mongolia. In 2020 Oyu Tolgoi paid USD 277 million taxes and royalties. This included corporate tax, royalties, fees and other payments totalling USD 82.4 million, employer payroll taxes of USD 23.4 million, USD 111.3 million of non-refundable VAT payments, USD 44.0 million of customs duties, USD 8.4 million of withholding taxes and USD 7.5 million in property taxes. Oyu Tolgoi also collected and remitted to Mongolian governments USD 22.1 million on behalf of its employees. Between 2010 and 2020, Oyu Tolgoi spent USD 11.6 billion in-country in the form of salaries, payments to Mongolian suppliers, taxes and other payments to the Government of Mongolia. Rio Tinto

Foreign Policy

Presidents of Mongolia and Russia held telephone conversation: President Battulga expressed gratitude to President Putin for providing support to the Mongolian government and put forward a request to accelerate the Sputnik-V vaccine delivery to Mongolia. President Putin noted that a working group will be formed to study the possibilities to manufacture Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine in Mongolia. Montsame

Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene held telephone call with Chinese Premier of State Council Li Keqiang: The Premiers discussed the possibilities of deepening the Mongolia-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and intensifying cooperation in the face of the pandemic. The two sides stressed that the sustainable development of good neighbourly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation is an important part of the foreign policy of the two countries. The sides agreed to work together to normalize the operation of border crossings. MontsameMFA China

China offering Mongolia helping hand to fight sandstorm challenge: China has offered to help Mongolia address environmental problems after the two countries were hit by heavy dust storms this spring. A sandstorm from southern Mongolia spread across East Asia in the middle of March, engulfing a huge swathe of northern China and also affecting the Korean peninsula. Local authorities said it was the worst in a decade, killing at least nine and leaving more than 80 people missing in Mongolia. SCMP

UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) to review Mongolia: The 20th session of the UN CED will begin on 12 April at 12:30 pm Geneva time.Criminalization, investigation and prevention of enforced disappearance, including measures to ensure the respect of fundamental legal safeguards and keep accurate records of all persons deprived of liberty are possible issues likely to be discussed. OHCHR

Economy

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in February totalled USD 99.5 million: Foreign direct investment declined for the month but increased year on year. In the first two months of the year, a total of USD 199.8 million was invested.Mongolia's mining export earnings are expected to recover as China's economy recovers. The Bank of Mongolia estimates that FDI in 2021 will total USD 1.4 billion. Bloomberg(In MNG)MNT 321 billion (EUR 94.5 million) in discounted loans disbursed through the government's pandemic recovery program: To date, MNT 152.3 billion (EUR 44.8 million) has been disbursed to 4033 individual borrowers and MNT 168.7 billion (EUR 49.6 million) to 712 business entities. A total of 4745 borrowers have received three percent interest rate loans valued at MNT 321 billion (EUR 94.4 million). 29 321 jobs have been saved so far due to the employment support loans granted. A total of MNT 2 trillion (EUR 588.5 million) has been earmarked for loan financing. Ikon(In MNG)The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowers Mongolia's economic growth forecast: IMF has cut Mongolia's economic growth forecast for 2021 to 5% percent, which is one percentage point lower than its October 2020 forecast. The IMF raised its global economic growth forecast to six percent, up by 0.5 percentage points. The global economy contracted 3.3% in 2020. Bloomberg(In MNG)

Commentary

Rio Tinto reaches agreement with Turquoise Hill Resources on financing plan for Oyu Tolgoi: Rio Tinto has entered into a binding Heads of Agreement with Turquoise Hill Resources for an updated funding plan for the completion of the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Project in Mongolia. The Funding Plan addresses the estimated remaining known funding requirement of approximately USD 2.3 billion, building on and replacing the arrangements established in the Memorandum of Understanding that Rio Tinto and TRQ previously entered into on 9 September 2020. Rio Tinto Copper Chief Executive Bold Baatar said 'Commencing the re-profiling whilst concurrently listening, engaging and resolving the concerns of the Government of Mongolia are critical steps to maintaining momentum on the timely delivery of the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Project.' Rio Tinto

A silver lining in the COVID-19 crisis in Mongolia: As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 crisis, it is instructive to look at how the private sector has coped since the onset of the pandemic over one year ago. The World Bank has conducted a series of surveys of the private sector in Mongolia. The survey data suggests that while Mongolia's businesses are still going through very difficult times, there are already some encouraging signs of recovery. The road to full recovery is likely to be long and arduous, with monumental efforts needed across many areas, including facilitating vaccinations and other health measures. While many businesses in Mongolia made the hard decision to close, and many others have gone through a painful process of adjustments to their workforce or their entire line of work, the remarkable flexibility shown by the private sector may be a silver lining, as we see signs of recovering demand. World Bank

Mongolian economy starts to see recovery from COVID-19 impacts: The Mongolian economy has been badly affected by COVID-19 over the past year. The rapid and strongly enforced shutdown of the Chinese economy early in 2020 caused immediate problems and was followed by the near complete shutdown imposed by the Mongolian Government, as Covid infection spread. However, with the ending of the lockdown on 23 February, the first green shoots of recovery became quickly apparent in March. World Economics

How can Mongolia Mobilise More Financial Resources for Sustainable National Development? Mongolia needs a significant amount of financial resources to meet its nationalized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the financing gap has further widened due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Mongolia has lost some of the progress it made towards the SDGs because of the pandemic, therefore heightened efforts are needed to regain the lost momentum and return focus back towards achieving the SDGs. To increase the available financial resources for Mongolia's development from good health of citizens to decent job opportunities, the state budget cannot be the sole source of financing and thus a number of measures are being identified that would not only increase the financing sources but also help allocate them more efficiently and effectively. Joint SDG Fund

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Prepared by Geser Ganbaatar

Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia

ICC Tower, 9th floor, Jamiyan Gun Street 9

1st khoroo, Sukhbaatar district, Ulaanbaatar

https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/mongolia_en

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