Mongolia Brief August 12, 2014 Part I
L.Bold
FM Attends ASEAN Regional Forum
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
August 12 (MONTSAME) A delegation headed by Mr L.Bold, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, has taken part in the 2014 ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) which ended
August 10 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Mr Bold
addressed a special meeting within the ARF to speak about state policy on
ensuring the regional peace and security, to underline an importance of
Mongolian President’s initiative on Ulaanbaatar Talks, and to present
activities Mongolia has been undertaking at international level for disarmament
of nuclear weapons and for contribution to peacekeeping operations.
A joint
declaration issued by the ARF appreciates Mongolia’s proclamation of nuclear
weapon-free status and related to it initiatives.
The ARF is
considered as the biggest gathering on the politics and security in the
Asia-Pacific region because it involves members of the ASEAN, talk partners and
observers. This year’s forum was attended by Foreign Ministers and Vice FM of
28 countries such as Russia, China, the USA, also by the European Union (EU),
the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia and Mongolia.
Related:
Foreign Affairs Ministers
attends ASEAN Regional Forum – news.mn,
August 12
FM
Meets with His Chinese Counterpart and Others
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
August 12 (MONTSAME) The Foreign Minister of Mongolia L.Bold has held official
meetings with his counterpart of China Mr Wang Yi and the Vice Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Russia Mr I.V.Morgulov during the 2014 ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF) which ended last Sunday in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Matters the
dignitaries discussed were a preparation for the forthcoming visits of the
Russian and the Chinese Presidents to Mongolia, expected early September and
late August this year. They touched upon, for example, agendas and documents
supposed to be established during the visits, and reached a general
understanding on some specific matters.
Mr Bold also
talked about policies of our government on bringing these visits' importance
and outcomes to a higher level and on augmenting the impact on Mongolia’s
development. He highlighted a position of the Mongolian side over a meeting
that is to be run for the first time next month among the Presidents of the
three countries.
Bilateral
Meetings Run
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
August 12 (MONTSAME) In frames of the 21st ASEAN Regional Forum held last
weekend, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Mr Bold held official
meetings with his counterparts and Vice Foreign Ministers of Australia, Japan,
the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Singapore and
Thailand.
Moreover, the
Foreign Minister met with Mr John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, and with Ms
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy.
At all the
meetings, the sides shared views on the bilateral and international cooperation
and touched upon issues of attracting support to Mongolia’s goal to become a
partner of the ARF and to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
16
babies poisoned from excess doses of Luminal
August 12
(news.mn) Sixteen babies between the ages of four days and three months were
poisoned from high doses of Luminal and are being treated at the National
Centre for Maternal and Children's Health (NCMCH).
A pharmacist at
the Ekh Nyalkhas branch of Monos pharmacies distributed high dosages of Luminal
for the infants last Friday. Currently, 14 poisoned babies are being treated at
the National Centre for Maternal and Children`s Health, and two are in critical
condition and being treated in intensive care.
Medical
specialists from the National Centre for Maternal and Children's Health
commented on the incident, saying that high dosage of Luminal is poisonous to
infants. The impact from such poisoning is dangerous. They say that even after
the poisonous dose is expelled, a baby is still at risk to lung and kidney
disorders.
The mother of a
20-month-old baby asked for help from her family physician, as her baby had
yellowish eyes and skin. The mother bought Luminal Phenobarbital, as her family
doctor had suggested, but the pharmacist at Monos, the nation's largest
pharmaceutical chain, provided an adult dose of Luminal, 200 mg instead of a
children's dose of 5-10 mg.
The mothers of
the poisoned babies reported that the excess dose of Luminal caused dizziness,
difficulty in breathing, and decreased appetite.
Opposition
parties call for Premier's resignation
August 12
(news.mn) Representatives of parties without seats in parliament met recently
to re-submit a petition calling for the resignation of Prime Minister
N.Altankhuyag.
Last June, the
parties demanded the Premier's resignation, claiming that the Law on Land, and
Minerals Law initiated by the Government violated the Constitution, was a cause
of rising corruption in Mongolia, and responsible for economic failures.
This time, the
parties claim that the Prime Minister violated the law by seeing his senior
advisor, L.Gansukh, without permission. L.Gansukh is currently being held in a
detention center in Tuv aimag.
The parties
insisted that the Prime Minister should resign. They delivered their
petition to Speaker of the State Great Khural, Z.Enkhbold and
parliamentarians today, on August 12th.
Roads
and Transportation Minister visits Russia
August 12
(news.mn) Minister of Roads and Transportation of Mongolia A.Gansukh paid a
working visit to Russia upon the invitation of Russian Transport Minister
M.Yu.Sokolov, from August 6-8th. During the visit, Minister A.Gansukh had a
meeting with his Russian counterpart, Transport Minister M.Yu.Sokolov, for
talks on bilateral transport cooperation.
The sides
exchanged views on transit transport via railway, technical upgrades for
Ulaanbaatar Railway JVC, cooperation between the Civil Aviation Authorities of
Mongolia and Russia, and MIAT and Aeroflot, and sought ways to further expand
bilateral cooperation and reach solutions. Minister A.Gansukh then
toured the Federal Air Transport Agency, Moscow State Technical University of
Civil Aviation, and the Aero Soyuz helicopter assembly plant. Moscow State
Technical University of Civil Aviation will train Mongolian students to become
qualified personnel for the Mongolian aviation industry.
The visit by
Roads and Transportation Minister A.Gansukh is significant as it comes before
Russian President V.Putin's visit to Mongolia in September.
Unemployment
Rate decreased by 10.9%
August 12 (Mongolian
Economy) At the end of last month, the number of unemployed persons in Mongolia
totaled 34.7 thousand, representing a decrease of 10.9 percent compared to the
same period the previous year. This is a decrease of 4.2 thousand persons, says
NSO monthly report
There are
currently 56.1 thousand people actively looking for employment. Over half of
these individuals are women. All around Mongolia, 55.4 thousand persons are
newly registered to enable themselves to find legal jobs.
15.6 thousand
individuals have already received employment through registration, but 63.5
thousand persons are not actively searching for job opportunities, resulting in
being removed from the registry.
By examining
educational levels of the unemployed, the majority only have a high school
degree or undergraduate degree. They compose over 70 percent of those lacking
jobs. Only 0.6 percent of those with a master’s degree are currently
unemployed.
Human
Development Report 2014: Mongolia
August 12
(infomongolia.com) The UNDP has launched the 2014 Human Development Report in
Tokyo on July 24, 2014, which has been published since 1990 as independent,
empirically grounded analyses of major development issues, trends and policies.
The 2014 Human
Development Report - Sustaining Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building
Resilience - looks at two concepts which are both interconnected and immensely
important to securing human development progress.
This year's Report
shows that overall global trends are positive and that progress is continuing.
Moreover, average loss of human development due to inequality has declined in
most regions in recent years, driven mainly by widespread gains in health.
The 2014 Report
presents HDI values for 187 countries, where the global HDI is now 0.702, and
most developing countries are continuing to advance. The lowest regional HDI
values are for Sub-Saharan Africa (0.502) and South Asia (0.588), and the
highest is for Latin America and the Caribbean (0.740), followed closely by
Europe and Central Asia (0.738).
The 187
countries surveyed were divided in four groups:
1. Very High
Human Development including top 49 states led by Norway (0.944), Australia
(0.933), Switzerland (0.917), Netherlands (0.915) and the United States with a
value of 0.914
2. High Human
Development (50-102)
3. Medium Human
Development (103-144)
4. Law Human
Development (145-187)
Also, the HDI
components are Life Expectancy at Birth, Mean Years of Schooling, Expected
Years of Schooling, and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
As of Mongolia
with a value of 0.698, stands at 103rd place with Medium Human Development and
Life expectancy at birth is 67.5, Mean years of schooling (8.3), Expected years
of schooling (15.0), and the Gross national income (GNI) per capita is 8,466
USD. Moreover, compare to 2012 Index, Mongolia’s change in rank is 3 from the
value of 0.692.
Erel
Bank Changes Its Name to Arig Bank
August 12
(infomongolia.com) Founded in 1997 by Erel Group, the Erel Bank announced to
rebrand its bank name to Arig Bank, which is effective from July 29, 2014.
Arig Bank is
one of the first commercial banks in Mongolia and during the company’s
shareholding meeting held on June 23, 2014, authorities came to the decision to
change the previously known Erel into Arig Bank.
The word
"Arig" means “thrift and economy” in English but the Bank implies
"clean and clear" meaning as one of the main principles must to
adhere by any banks and financial institutions.
Mongolia-Korea
Economic Forum Runs in Ulaanbaatar
August 12
(infomongolia.com) The Mongolia-Korea Economic Forum is being held at the
"Ikh Tenger" State Complex in Ulaanbaatar on August 11-12, 2014. This
year’s Forum brought over 120 participants from both countries’ politicians,
experts, economists, businessmen and representatives of leading enterprises.
Founder of
“Mongolia-Korea Economic Forum” NGO, MP G.Batkhuu noted in his opening remarks,
“We have founded this Forum in order to determine mutually beneficial economic
partnership policy between Mongolia and South Korea, moreover, to exchange
entrepreneurs’ experiences and to be a bridge between the two countries as well
as to attract more investors. Within this year’s Forum, parties would seek
opportunities to broaden economic collaboration, particularly, exchange
opinions on developing conditions and ideas to establish a free trade agreement
and come to end-decision at a national level”.
On the first
day of the Forum, speeches on intergovernmental relations, reciprocal travel
conditions between citizens, economy, and business environmental issues were
delivered by Deputy Minister of Economic Development O.Chuluunbat, State
Secretary at Foreign Ministry B.Boldbaatar, Executive Director of National
Council of Private Sector Support Ch.Khashchuluun and Chairman of Business
Council of Mongolia B.Byambasuren respectively.
During the
Forum, Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation was signed between “Erdenes
Tavan Tolgoi” JSC and Daelim Corporation represented by CEO of “Erdenes Tavan
Tolgoi” Ya.Batsuuri and Senior Managing Director of Daelim Corporation Lee
Sang-gi. In the scope of the document, the two companies will establish an
agreement to transport coal from Tavan Tolgoi to Tsagaan Khad mine, where
Daelim will be taking a full responsibility of transportation according to
contract.
Organizers
pledged to host such Forum biennially in both territories respectively.
Related:
Mongolia-S.Korea
Business Forum Running – Montsame,
August 12
Bestseller
Books Named
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
August 12 (MONTSAME) The “Internom” bookstore Tuesday announced the last week's
bestsellers.
The book
"Mongolians: 17-20th century" by S.Chuluun topped the list of bestseller
books. This book tells in detail a 300-year history of Mongolia, is richly
illustrated and supplemented with documentary materials. It also narrates about
Mongolians-Russian empire-Manchu Qing ties.
After this goes
a first volume of the "1Q84" by a Japanese Murakami Haruki, a leader
of previous list of bestsellers.
Other
bestsellers became “Psychology”; “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel
Garcia Marquez; “English-Mongolian dictionary” by Oxford Monsudar; “Green-Eyed
Monk” by Ts.Oyungerel; “Incredible person”; “Bat the Good King” by B.Sarantuya;
“Morning Type Person: Managing times” by Saisho Hiroshi; and “Tov province”
serial map.
Student
soldiers to take oath
August 12
(news.mn) The first class of 410 students from 42 national universities and
institutes are serving in the army through the "Student-Soldier"
program, approved by the Government of Mongolia on February 14th, and launched
by the Minister of Education and Science based on Presidential Decree 92.
Now, the
student soldiers will take oath at Chinggis Khaan Square on Wednesday, August
13th. For the oath taking ceremony, President Ts.Elbegdorj and other officials
will be present. The student soldiers are serving in the army at the
Armed Forces 119th unit training center in Altanbulag sum in Tuv aimag, taking
special training courses.
For two months,
the student soldiers take nine different courses for 560 hours of training. In
addition to the core courses, student soldiers take an exam following the 96
hour “General Military Course” and medical check-ups.
They will now
begin the second phase of the program. When the four-month military course is
completed by a student, they will be considered for enlistment. Student
soldiers who serve in the army will be granted their bachelor's diploma along
with a military service member certificate and will qualify for jobs in state
services.
Chinese
cultural days coming
August 12
(news.mn) Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Mongolia on August 18th, on
the occasion of the 65th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations
between Mongolia and China.
During the
visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese cultural days will be organized
in Ulaanbaatar.
The cultural
days of will be held between August 20-30th. An amazing artists’
ceremonial performance from Jilin Province of the People's Republic of
China will be staged on August 27th. There will also be an exhibition of works
by the best Chinese artists on display at Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery
on August 22nd.
Gross
Domestic Product approached MNT 9856.9 billion
August 12
(Mongolian Economy) During the first half of 2014, GDP by production approached
MNT 9856.9 billion, which is up 14.6 percent at current price. GDP by
expenditure experienced a similar trend as it reached a level of MNT 9429.7
billion. This is an increase of 11.1 percent at current price compared to the
same period the previous year.
The Bank of
Mongolia’s statistics show that money supply by the end of last month amounted
to MNT 10081.0 billion, showing a decrease of MNT 26.0 billion, or 0.3 percent
from the previous month. Compared to the previous year, money supply has
increase by 24.6 percent, or MNT 1992.3 billion. Currency issued in circulation
shows a similar trend as well. By the end of July 2014, it reached MNT 859.6
billion, a 0.1 percent decrease from the previous month. Compared to the
previous year, currency in circulation has increased by 3.3 percent, or MNT
27.4 billion.
In addition,
during the first seven months of the year, 32.9 million shares were traded.
This totaled to a value of MNT 134.7 billion in the stock market. Total
equilibrated revenue and grants of the General Government Budget equals MNT
3305.2 billion and net lending of this budget reached MNT 3466.1 billion. This
shows a deficit of MNT 160.9 billion.
At the end of
last month, tax revenue increased by MNT 184.3 billion, or 7.0 percent. This is
due to increases on social security contributions, taxes on goods and services
and revenue from taxes on foreign trade. This increase happened despite
downfalls in income taxes and revenues from corporate income tax.
Mongolia has
traded with 122 countries during the first seven months of 2014. In turn, total
external trade turnover reached USD 6088.6 million. Of this amount, USD 2940.5
was made up from exports. The rest, USD 3148.1 million, was made up by imports.
Total external trade turnover increased by 0.8 percent, yet external trade
balance had a deficit of USD 1.3 billion in 2013.
Another
increasing trend is the national consumer price index. As of July 2014, it rose
by 0.4 percent compared to the previous month and 14.9 percent compared to the
previous year. This increase was caused by increasing in housing, water,
electricity and fuels, transportation, clothing, footwear and cloth.
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