Mongolia Brief June 12, 2014 Part I
Anti-Corruption Study to Be Presented
Ulaanbaatar,
June 12 (MONTSAME) Results of a study to assess the level of public knowledge
and perception about corruption will be openly presented in the State House on
Friday.
The event will
be opened by a chairwoman of the parliamentary Standing committee on Petitions
R.Burmaa MP, a resident representative of the US Agency for International
Development Mr Francis A. Donavan, and a country representative of the Asia
Foundation Ms Meloney C.Lindberg.
The results
will be highlighted by project manager at the Asia Foundation A.Bayanmonkh,
while the methodology used will be explained by executive director of the Sant
Maral Foundation L.Sumati.
Kyrgyzstan Delegation Visits Civil Hall
Ulaanbaatar,
June 12 (MONTSAME) A chief of the Presidential Office P.Tsagaan met Thursday
with a First Vice Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Mr Tayirbek Sarpashev.
Mr Tsagaan
thanked the high guest for visiting Mongolia, expressed a confidence in a
successful implementation of talks that had run during this visit and wished
him a success.
The two sides
highlighted open chances to boost cooperation between the countries in economy,
agriculture, tourism and trade. They also touched upon current state, economy,
relationship and collaboration between Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan.
After the
meeting, Mr Sarpashev and accompanying him delegation were shown the Civil
Hall, established at initiative of the President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj.
Premier Participates in ILC Session
Ulaanbaatar,
June 12 (MONTSAME) The Prime Minister N.Altankhuyag Thursday returned home
after the 103rd session of the International Labour Conference (ILC), which ran
May 28-June 12 in Geneva of Switzerland under a topic "Progress with
jobs-Employment-2014".
Within the
session, the Premier attended introduction meetings of the Sustaining
competitive and responsible enterprise (SCORE) and the Skills for Trade and
Economic Diversification (STED) programmes, being implemented by the
International Labour Organization (ILO), and exchanged views with many on
involving Mongolia in these programmes.
While meeting
with Mr Guy Rider, the ILO Director-General, our PM noted that the ILO's
support in the implementation of Mongolia’s social and economic reforms
policy significantly contributed to updating and refining the legal basis of
labour relations and to making reforms in salary and social welfare systems. He
also highly spoke projects and programmes realized with the ILO support for
forwarding a transmitting to the official economy from unofficial and for strengthening
a monitoring over the labour sector. The Premier said Mongolia needs to empower
its workforce in order to specialize the economy through promoting of
trilateral social relations, attracting investments, focusing on the mining
growth's impact on the country’s development. The government is paying special
attention to a support of small- and medium-sized productions, the Premier said
and stressed an importance of the cooperation with the ILO in this
matter.
Mongolian Industry & Business Association Launched in Istanbul
June 12
(infomongolia.com) At the initiation of Turkish business entrepreneurs,
Mongolian Industry & Business Association (MIBA) is established in Istanbul
that aims to support and strengthen bilateral ties in economy and trade between
Mongolia and the Republic of Turkey.
The MIBA is
comprised of 70 members and also opened its office in Mongolia. The MIBA
delegates headed by President Ismail Duru have visited the Embassy of Mongolia
in Ankara on June 11, 2014 seeking further collaboration issues and tasks to
carry out near future.
In the scope of
meeting the MIBA representatives, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of Mongolia to the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Badamdorj BATKHISHIG congratulated
the delegates on launching the Association and by introducing Mongolia’s
current trade and investment opportunities offered to cooperate in building
construction, housing and road & bridges, besides to expand leather &
skin, end products and tourism infrastructure businesses in Mongolia, moreover,
to open Mongolian wool & cashmere store in big cities of Turkey.
Related:
Mongolian
Industry and Business Association Established in Istanbul – Montsame, June 12
Academy Award Winners to Be Announced Friday
Ulaanbaatar,
June 12 (MONTSAME) Announcing the best works in the cinema industry of the
nation, the "Academy Awards Mongolia 2014" is to run at the
"Mongol Shiltgeen" on Friday.
The national
Film Academy will select the best creations that have opened since June 8 of
2013, in a range of nominations--best film, best actor, best actress, best
director, best adaptation, best documentary and best short film.
Since 2008, the
Academy has been trying to promote film making and film makers and to register
in an achieve feature, short films and documentaries made in the nation.
Last year, the
best film award went to "Aravt", or "Ten Soldiers of Chinggis
Khaan", made by Mongol Film Group in collaboration with Chinese Inner
Mongolian "Nuudel Soyol" production.
Ambassador of Mongolia to Kingdom of Denmark, Z.Altai Accredited
June 12
(infomongolia.com) A non-resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of Mongolia to the Kingdom of Denmark Mr. Zorig ALTAI has presented a Letter of
Credence to Her Majesty Queen of Denmark Margrethe II on June 04, 2014.
Following the
credential handing ceremony Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II received newly
accredited envoy and at the beginning of meeting Ambassador Z.Altai conveyed
greetings of the state head of Mongolia and noted that bilateral political and
economic relations and cooperation have been intensively developed in recent years.
In particular, visits of the President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj to Denmark
conducted in October 2010 and Minister of Foreign Affairs L.Bold made in May
2014 have contributed greatly to the stimulation of bilateral ties. Moreover,
Ambassador Z.Altai emphasized and pledged to take every effort to implement
issues touched upon during the visits and to further bilateral trade and
economic collaboration.
Ambassador
Z.Altai also expressed his interests to introduce Denmark’s renewable energy
and green technology into Mongolia, which are considered one of the world’s
leading sectors, and his willing to attract investment as well as develop
partnership in these sectors. Besides, he also mentioned that the Embassy of
Mongolia in the Kingdom of Sweden, where Z.Altai is a resident Ambassador, is
studying to open a dinosaur museum in Scandinavian countries.
Queen Margrethe
II expressed satisfaction in the actively developing of bilateral relations and
mentioned that Her Majesty got acquainted well about Mongolia through Danish
travel writer and anthropologist Henning Haslund-Christensenher and her son
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, who has visited Mongolia several times, and
wished success to endeavors being implemented by the Embassy.
To note, the
Kingdom of Denmark has decided to lead the transition to a green growth economy
and will be independent of fossil fuels by 2050 as the first country in the
world. As the official green brand for Denmark, State of Green gathers all
leading players in the fields of energy, climate, water and environment and
fosters relations with international stakeholders interested in learning from
the Danish experience.
Newly
accredited Mongolian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark Zorig ALTAI serves as
the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Kingdom of
Sweden with residency in Stockholm since June 13, 2013, also Ambassador of
Mongolia to the Kingdom of Norway since March 06, 2014 and Ambassador of
Mongolia to the Republic of Finland since March 27, 2014.
Mongolia and
the Kingdom of Denmark have established the diplomatic relations on August 05,
1968.
Mongolia to Host First International Scientific Forum Welcoming “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security”
June 12
(infomongolia.com) Exemplified on “Helsinki Process on Globalization and
Democracy”, the President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj forwarded an initiative to
organize an “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security” during the VII
Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies held in Ulaanbaatar in
April 2013.
The Ulaanbaatar
Dialogue searches for novel and empowering solutions to the dilemmas on the
security issue in the Northeast Asian Region and aims to offer a forum for open
and inclusive dialogue between representatives of the region as Mongolia
maintains the friendly status quo with all countries of the Northeast Asian
region.
In the scope of
the initiative, Mongolia for the first time hosted successfully the Northeast
Asian Women Parliamentarians’ Forum in Ulaanbaatar in November 2013. Also this
year intends to host a Forum for Mayors of Northeast Asian Cities. In this
regard, the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue is not a one-time action, but a mechanism to
create a bilateral and trilateral or even multilateral dialogue depending on
the agenda to discuss.
The main
principle of Ulaanbaatar Dialogue is not to outline an interest of a country or
a party, instead it would give opportunities to clarify parties’ positions and
in order to facilitate understandings between the parties, the 1.5 channel and
2 channel dialogues are enabled to conduct that contribute to seeking ways for
tackling any complicated matters of the region.
Therefore,
Mongolia is to host the First International Scientific Forum in Ulaanbaatar in
June 2014.
The upcoming
event welcoming the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue is to be convened and anticipates over
100 scholars and researchers from six Northeast Asian countries (Mongolia,
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, People's Republic of
China, Russian Federation and Japan) as well as the United States of America
and the EU Countries.
The Conference
is aiming at promoting the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue initiatives, besides engaging
parties in discussion, highlighting certain information and focused to
listening to the recommendations by outside researchers.
D.Erdenetsogt: The main objective of our institute is the absolute abolishment of chemical weapons
June 12 (UB
Post) UN chemical weapons expert, member
of a Nobel Prize-winning team, Colonel D.Erdenetsogt gave an interview about
his career working for the UN and other important issues regarding chemical
weapons.
What is your profession?
I’m a chemical
weapons expert. I’m a native of Urgamal soum, Zavkhan Province. After I
finished school in the 1980s, I went to study at a military school in Russia.
Later, I returned to Mongolia and served in the army. I’ve been in the army for
around 25 years. I was qualified to a UN examination in June 2005, and I have
been working for the UN for nine years.
Many readers may be surprised that they
didn’t hear about the Mongolian won a Nobel Prize. When did you receive the
Nobel Prize?
It wasn’t for
just me. It was an institutional prize. In October 2013, political issues of
Syria became very serious. Russia and western countries focused on preventing
war in Syria because the USA and other western countries reported that Syria
had chemical weapons and were about to attack. The US stopped its invasion of
Syria when our institute took control of Syria’s chemical weapons. Chemical
weapons experts destroyed Syria’s chemical weapons. Right at that moment,
people started to talk about the Nobel Prize. Out of over 250 institutions and
individuals, one institution and one individual received the Nobel Prize. The
individual’s prize was given to the Russian President V. Putin and the UN got
the institutional prize.
The main
objective of our institute is the absolute abolishment of all chemical weapons.
So far, we’ve abolished around 80 percent of the total world chemical weapons.
People agreed that it was definite that our institutions should get a Nobel
Peace Prize. Although it’s an institutional prize, team members who abolished
Syria’s chemical weapons got certificates and medals.
Have other Mongolians worked in this field
before you?
Ever since the
established of the UN Institution for Chemical Research in 1997, Mongolian
experts have been constantly working there. In 1997, General Khurlee worked for
the institute. The UN establishes a seven-year contract with us. When General
Khurlee’s contract expired, Colonel Narmandakh started working and later, I was
employed. This is my tenth year working. Mongolians have been working as UN
chemical weapons experts ever since the establishment without losing their
positions. I’m very happy that I was able to maintain this position, become a
member of a Nobel Prize winning team and bring this honor to Mongolia.
Since Mongolia is a peaceful country
without any wars, not many are aware of chemical weapons. We only see it from
films. What are chemical weapons?
The general and
traditional definition of a chemical weapon is a toxic chemical contained in a
delivery system, such as rockets, artillery, tanks and aircraft bombs. When the
chemical evaporates, it contaminates the area. A person who inhales the
chemical will die either within a minute or after excruciating pain. It’s a
weapon for mass destruction. It’s defined as a toxic substance together with
the chemical’s delivery system.
Have you worked in war zones?
I guess I have
since there was a civil war in Syria. Exact locations where experts worked and
their missions are confidential; therefore, I can’t reveal it through the
media. I primarily work in Russia, the USA, Syria and Libya. During the 1940s,
when there was the Japanese cavalry army, they established a weapon against
Mongolia but weren’t able to utilize it. Our experts’ team discovered that
chemical weapons were hidden in sandy regions such as Manchuria and Harbin and
destroyed them. Generally, we work in many places but only the abovementioned
four countries have actual chemical weapons. We go to other countries for
practical training. The foremost objective is to destroy chemical weapons
manually. Our work is considered completed with the absolute destruction of all
chemical weapons.
How are chemical weapons destroyed?
There are
several devices designed for destroying chemical weapons. The latest technology
involves destroying by neutralizing which is to aspirate the toxic substance
and mix it with nontoxic chemicals to make it nontoxic. The remaining substance
is burnt at 1,000 degree Celsius stoves. Obviously, it’ll not completely burn
and disappear but chemicals stuck to the sides of the metal will evaporate and
disappear. Metal wastes are divided and disposed. After this, the work is
completed. As disposal is conducted similar to assembly, once it begins, it
continues for 24 hours until it’s completed. We don’t have working hours or day
offs. After I got this job, I worked for days and nights far away from my home
for six years. Being a chemical weapons expert requires high endurance both
physically and mentally. I got to understand that working in this field in this
position shows Mongolians’ durability, persistence and ability. I don’t mean to
promote myself but Mongolians who’ve worked and are working here.
How many chemical weapons have you
destroyed?
Its recorded in
amount not in units. Perhaps, several tens of thousands of tons. Sometimes, we
destroy 10 bombs in a day, sometimes even 1,000 bombs. It depends on the
circumstances of the day.
How long will you stay in Mongolia or will
you stay here for good?
The institute
gives a seven to eight day holiday. I’m very happy to have come to Mongolia on
my holiday. Homeland is a very valuable thing. Unfortunately, we don’t have
more day offs.
You do a very difficult work which not many
are capable of doing. There must have been many challenges during your ten year
career. When was it the most difficult?
There haven’t
been unreasonably difficulties during my ten years working for the UN. However,
it seems to be very difficult for Europeans. All chemical weapons are placed
away from people. For instance, we serve our duties in wild jungles of India
and forests of Siberia for several months. Working in both minus and plus
50 degrees Celsius temperatures is not easy. At that time, I noticed that the
people of developed countries, who were raised in good conditions and a lot of
freedom, are having a difficult time. It occurred to me that Mongolians have
exceptional adaptive skills as well as implementation capacity because
Mongolians stay overtime while other experts from different countries go home
to rest. As long as I’m needed, I don’t think I’ll experience my worst
hardship.
Where does your family live?
When I left
Mongolia, I went with my family. My family’s well. My wife is looking after our
children and my children are now working after graduating.
It must be difficult for a woman to manage
a household while her husband is away for a long time. Does your wife complain?
My wife never
complained. Sometimes when my wife goes back to Mongolia, it’s difficult to be
alone. It’s more difficult to stay at home alone than on missions. At work,
it’s alright since I can get distracted with work and chat with colleagues but
staying at home alone is very difficult.
You’ve worked in many places. How many
languages can you speak?
From the
languages recognized by the UN, I can speak five languages, which are Arabic,
English, French, Russian, and Spanish. I can understand Chinese a little.
How much time do you spend on independent
study?
I learnt
languages independently. I don’t like wasting time so I try to use every minute
productively. While doing push-ups, I memorize and repeat vocabularies of the
language I’m learning. It doesn’t require heaps of time, we just need to be
able to use the time we have efficiently. I don’t only learn the language of a
country I’m about to go to but also for research purposes. I go there after
researching for weeks. It’s best to know their culture. For instance, I don’t
eat pork when I’m in Arabia because the people there, who are Islamic interpret
it as an affront. When I go to India, I don’t eat beef because I’ll be
insulting Indians by eating the meat of a holy animal they worship. We should
learn from our surroundings and respect everyone around us.
How long will you be working for the UN?
My contract was
for seven years. My contract extension is connected to the achievement in
Syria. It probably will not be extended again. When it expires, I’ll return to
Mongolia and probably work for the army.
Do you have any messages to young people in
Mongolia?
In my opinion,
young people of Mongolia are the most ambitious people of the world. There are
200 world-recognized schools in Mongolia.
Mongolian young
people are very talented and capable. Although China is said to be developing
rapidly, Mongolia is developing even faster. To all Mongolian young people, I’d
like to advise them to have ambition, work at your highest ability and develop
yourselves until you reach your limits.
O.Gundegmaa wins gold at ISSF World Cup
June 12 (UB
Post) State Honored Athlete and Olympic silver medalist O.Gundegmaa won a gold
medal at the ISSF World Cup, which is being held in Munich, Germany from June 4
to 13.
O.Gundegmaa
collected 584 points in the preliminary round of the 25 meters pistol women’s
event and advanced to the final in 5th place.
At the final
stage, she earned extra 21 points and defeated Germany’s D.Munkhbayar, who is
of Mongolian descent.
Two time
Olympic bronze medalist, world champion D.Munkhbayar took silver, and China’s
Zhang Jingjing won the bronze medal.
Mongolia’s top
12 shooters, coached by senior expert of the national shooters team A.Enkhtur
and State Honored Coach L.Undralbat, are presenting Mongolia at the ISSF World
Cup.
Student taekwondo fighters compete at World University Taekwondo Championship
June 12 (UB
Post) The 13th World University Taekwondo Championship is taking place in
Hohhot, China, from June 8 to 14.
The Mongolian
student taekwondo team is competing in the 13th World University Taekwondo
Championship.
Some 400
student athletes from more than 40 countries, such as Mongolia, USA, Turkey,
Thailand, Sweden, Spain, Russia, South Korea, Mexico, Japan, Indonesia, Ivory
Coast, Egypt, Brazil and Australia.
The Mongolian
team consists of ten athletes, namely Z.Oyunbileg, U.Amartuvshin,
S.Yanjinlkham, P.Temuujin, M.Tumenbayar, I.Odsuren, E.Enkhtulga, B.Sergelenbat,
B.Tuvshinjargal, and B.Baatarkhuu.
Mongolians in Australia hold Basketball Championship
June 12 (UB
Post) The Association for Mongolians in Australia and Nomads League jointly
organized a basketball tournament among Mongolians living in Australia, in
Sydney on June 8.
Head of the
association Yu.Amartuvshin gave an opening speech at the tournament and Sydney
Dance Crew performed a dance show.
The tournament
was held in two categories, for men and women, with the total participation of
110 athletes. Eight men’s and four women’s teams vied for medals.
Eagles team won
gold in the men’s category, followed by Wolves and TMG teams. Red Bulls won the
women’s tournament, followed by Black Eagles and Canberra Girls.
O.Munkhtulga of
Eagles team was named best male player and O.Enkhtaivan of Red Bulls was named
best female player of the tournament.
The Ambassador
of Mongolia to Australia R.Bold presented Cups and gold medals to the winners
and a special acknowledgment of the embassy to referee G.Gantulga.
Jiu-jitsu fighters win seven medals at World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
June 12 (UB
Post) The Mongolian Jiu-jitsu Federation team captured six medals at the World
Jiu-jitsu Championship which took place from May 29 to June 1 in California,
USA.
The Mongolian
Jiu-Jitsu Federation organized a news conference on June 7 to report the
results of the championship.
Some 3,000
wrestlers from 40 countries attended this year’s championship.
Twenty
Mongolian delegates, including secretary-general of the Mongolian Jiu-jitsu
Federation O.Bold-Erdene, and head of the Mongolian team and director of Tumurt
Trans LLC Ts.Gantulga represented Mongolia at the World Jiu-jitsu Championship.
From Mongolia,
world jiu-jitsu champion M.Sugar won a bronze medal in the women’s 79 kg.
Sh.Bumbayar of
Govisumber Province won silver in the junior men’s 58 kg and Kh.Urankhishig
captured silver in the junior women’s 69 kg category. Four other junior
fighters won bronze medals in the 48 kg, 53 kg and 84 kg tournaments.
Mongolian
jiu-jitsu team is currently training to compete in the Asian Beach Games, which
will take place in Thailand in November, and the US Open tournament, which will
be held in the USA on October.
Bayan-Ulgii Museum showcases new dombra
June 12 (UB
Post) The Museum of Bayan-Ulgii Province has received a new exhibit, dombra, a
string instrument of Kazakh.
The instrument
is three meters tall and weighs 100 kg. It has a pear-shaped body, a long, thin
neck, with gut or nylon frets, a small head with two wooden pegs and two
low-tuned strings.
The dombra was
made by State Cultural Merit Worker Ch.Enkh-Otgon.
The dombra is
the most popular Kazakh folk instruments and it can usually be found in every
Kazakh family. It was referred to as one the most necessary and obligatory
things in the life of Kazakhs.
‘My Love’ romance in theatres next week
June 12 (UB
Post) Joint creation of Bodooloi Film and Miyegombo, the romance “My Love”
will launch at Tengis, Urgoo and Soyombo cinemas on June 16.
The script was
written by director Ts.Zoljargal and A.Miyegombo.
“My Love” stars
popular and emerging Mongolian artists, including, E.Munkhtur, B.Bayarmaa,
B.Bilegdemberel, A.Enkhbayar, P.Bayartsengel, Sh.Javkhlan, J.Munkhzul,
E.Uuganbayar, G.Zolzaya, M.Dorgjdagva, Sh.Altantsetseg and R.Adiya.
The film is
about debate, love and domestic dispute.
Aadar to cover Metallica
June 12 (UB
Post) Mongolian rock band Aadar is about to perform a Metallica cover concert
on June 21, at UB Palace.
During the
concert, Aadar is expected to cover a selection of 20 songs by Metallica,
including hits from “Kill ‘em All,” “Ride the Lightening,” “Master of Puppets,”
“And Justice for All,” “The Black Album,” “Load,” “Reload,” and “Death
Magnetic” albums.
Metallica is an
American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band’s fast tempos,
instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the founding
“big four” of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax.
Metallica has
released nine studio albums, four live albums, five extended plays, 25 music
videos, and 37 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five
consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Metallica
the first band to do so. The band’s eponymous 1991 album has sold over 16
million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling album of the
SoundScan Era.
Metallica ranks
as one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold over
120 million records worldwide. Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest
artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone, which ranked
them 61st on its list of “The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”
Ch.Khurelbaatar solo exhibition
June 12 (UB
Post) Mongolian Artists Union’s prized artist Ch.Khurelbaatar’s solo exhibition
is being held at the exhibition hall of the Mongolian Artist’s Union through
June 15.
Ch.Khurelbaatar
graduated from secondary school in fine arts in 1979 and the Art Academy of
Saint Petersburg in 1987. He is the one of the nation’s famous artists who has
chosen a realistic approach and has specialized in nature and portraiture since
he majored in art. His large number of artworks composed by oil paint and
watercolor express his skill and talent, as well as his opinion and
aspirations.
He makes
conclusions and evaluates his work, and strives to set an example. That is why
his compositions’ heroes seem to exist on the border of an imaginary universe.
Implementing what he learned from realism, classicism, and the romanticism of
humankind’s visual treasury, it seems he is truly focusing on enhancing the
viewer’s morals, aesthetic knowledge and education.
This exhibition
was sponsored by the leading law firm MDS and KhanLex and international law
firm Clyde and Co, as part of their socially responsible projects. They
supported the printing of the first introduction about the artist.
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