PM highlights Mongolia’s democratic achievements

On Saturday the Prime Minister of Mongolia, N.Altankhuyag, delivered the opening speech of the Joint Session of the VII Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies, which was held at Government House. In his speech, the prime minister highlighted the achievements of Mongolia in its transition to democracy.

“The path to democracy was not easy. But Mongolia has managed to create a system that observes human rights and forms the government through free democratic choice,” he said.

A total of 1,215 delegates from 104 countries of the world are currently gathered in Ulaanbaatar to attend the VII Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies, which is running from April 26 through April 29. Mongolia currently holds the presidency of the Community of Democracies (CD).

Prime Minister N.Altankhuyag noted in his speech that in Mongolia the process of democracy was first launched 23 years ago and through its democratic achievements since then, the country gained the chance to chair the CD, which has some 150 member countries.

The prime minister’s speech was followed by an address by the Secretary General of the Community of Democracies, Maria Leissner. She addressed the meeting saying that Mongolia clearly demonstrated a good image of democracy. She noted that although Mongolia is sandwiched between two large neighbors, it has properly determined its political place, set out the Millennium Development Goals, and is striving to implement these goals successfully.

“It is a great achievement. Even now, we face some problems obstructing democracy. In this regard, I hope that the countries taking care of democratic development can properly talk with each other at the meeting being successfully hosted by Mongolia,” she said.

The conference includes thematic sessions on Harnessing Open Governance for Democracy and Supporting Democratic Transition, Education for Democracy, Emerging Democracies in Asia and the Arab world, Democracy and Millennium Development Goals, Corruption and Other Threats to Democracy, and Online Freedom.

Parallel sessions on five specific forums were launched on April 27. These forums include: Women’s Forum, Parliamentary Forum, Civil Society Forum, Corporate Forum and Youth Forum.

The international event is being covered by over 50 representatives from foreign mass media organizations and about 200 Mongolian journalists.

The organizers of the event believe that the conference has great significance for Mongolia, putting Mongolia’s democratic reforms in the spotlight and showcasing Mongolia’s achievements over the past 20 years.

The Community of Democracies is a global intergovernmental coalition of democratic countries with the goal of strengthening democratic norms and institutions around the world. Its mission is to support democratic transition and consolidation worldwide and help bridge the gap between the principles and practice of democracy and human rights.

Mongolia has held the presidency of the Community of Democracies since July 2011. During its two-year presidential term, which will end in June this year, Mongolia has focused on strengthening regional cooperation, promoting education for democracy, advancing women’s empowerment, and countering corruption.

The closing session of the event is being held today. At the session, Mongolia will officially hand over the presidency of the CD to El Salvador. El Salvador will assume the Presidency of the CD in July 2013.

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