Mongolia News Summary for May 09, 2025

The following news articles are the opinions of their authors and publications. They are presented here as translations for informational purposes and do not necessarily represent the opinion of MongolBeat or its members.

Today's Stories

Politics

• If MPs N. Altankhuyag and B. Naidalaa are found guilty in the Development Bank case, their parliamentary immunity may be affected
• G. Temuulen: The Ministry of Finance is preparing to submit a draft law that removes foreign loans and aid from the state budget
• T. Badral, Former Chief of the National Emergency Management Agency and Former Ambassador, to be Appointed as the New Director of 'Erdenet Factory' Soon
• EVENTS: Members of Parliament to Provide Information on the Draft Law to Reduce the Individual Income Tax from 10% to 1%
• The Constitutional Court Should Stop Kh. Nyambaatar's Madness of Turning Ulaanbaatar into 14 Cities
• J. Bayarmaa: A Bill to Reduce Personal Income Tax to 1 Percent Has Been Submitted to the Government
• G. Temuulen: The Ministry of Finance is making amendments to the 2025 budget for the third time
• Parliament: Discussing the Appointment of the Chief Auditor
• B. Ganzorig: The Director of the Academy of Management, D. Surenchimeg, committed procurement violations totaling over ₮2 billion

Economy

• TDB Participated in the 'Mongolian Investment Forum: New York 2025'
• G. Temuulen: Although we projected economic growth at 7%, it is now struggling to even reach 4%
• Entrepreneurs Spend an Average of 12 Days Receiving Government Services
• V. Putin: Trade Turnover Between Russia and Mongolia Increased by 25%
• O.Batnairamdal: Mongolia must clarify its profits from the two licenses held by Ontre LLC
• Discussion on Collaboration with IFC
• Report: Citizens Spend Their Salaries on Flour, Meat, and Potatoes
• Imports Increase by 3.9 Percent
• World's Best Arrive in Mongolia to Attend 'Power expo & Festival'
• Major Taxpayers Contributing to the State Budget Named
• J. Mendsbayar: The decision of the commission that evaluated ‘Glob’s assets was nullified by three levels of courts. Therefore, we are claiming ₮50 billion from the government
• Prices of Goat Meat and Hay Increase by 2-4% in Rural Areas Within a Week
• J.Bayarmaa: If a person with a salary of ₮2 million does not have to pay 9% of their Individual Income Tax to the state, they will keep ₮180,000. At least they can buy a sack of flour or a bag of rice
• J. Mendbayar of 'Glob Credit' to Demand 50 Billion from the State
• M Loyalty: Bringing Discounts, Bonuses, and Cashback Together

Diplomacy

• President U. Khurelsukh Discussed Issues Like the 'Power of Siberia-2' Pipeline and the Eg River Hydroelectric Power Plant with V. Putin in a Closed Meeting
• President of Mongolia U. Khurelsukh and President of Russia V. V. Putin Hold Official Meeting
• SELENGA: Virtual Meeting Held with Shizuoka Prefecture Representatives to Expand Cooperation
• V. Putin and Xi Jinping to Discuss Gas Pipeline Project
• China to Soften Its Position on “Power of Siberia 2”
• President Khurelsukh Arrives in Moscow to Attend 80th Anniversary Victory Celebration

Infrastructure

• Russia to Pressure for 'Power of Siberia-2' Gas Pipeline to Pass Through Mongolia During Xi Jinping and Putin Meeting
• Cooperation to Enhance Micro Mining Rescue Operations Capacity with Canada
• Payments Not Being Made to Mongolian Companies Contracted for 'Nogoon Nuur-1008' Project
• Dornogovi: Renewable Energy Projects Supply an Average of 312.3 Million kWh of Electricity Per Year
• Regular Flights from Tuva to Mongolia to Begin
• B.Orgil: Expanding the Steel Production Project on the Basis of Darkhan Metallurgical Plant is Effective
• Shadivlan Resort Access Road Closed for Renovation
• "If Additional Funding is Resolved, the School Being Built with the City Budget in Marshal Town, River Garden Will Be Commissioned This Year"
• Schedule for Power Outages on May 9
• 63% Completion for Road Connecting Tolgoit Road to Ard Ayush Avenue

Society

• 219 Citizens from 13 Countries Denied Entry at the Border and Sent Back
• 219 citizens from 13 countries denied border entry and sent back
• Road Closures During the Bicycle Parade on Saturday
• Former President Ts. Elbegdorj to Give a Lecture and Interview in Japan
• Central Province: Disaster Protection Command Staff Exercise Begins
• A Lobby Group to Support Child Development and Protection to be Established
• The National Human Rights Commission Calls for Legal Regulations to Diagnose and Monitor Individuals with Pedophilic Disorders

Environment

• The Best Solution to Air Pollution: INSULATION
• SELENGA: Spring Planting Begins in the Province

Innovation

• The Second Phase of the 1000 Engineers Project Has Started
• Calculating Examination Results Using Artificial Intelligence in the Medical Sector
• Network to Be Introduced at 13 Remote Locations in the Gobi Region
• A Working Group Established to Study Satellites
• Network to be Introduced at 13 Points in the Gobi Region

Health

• The Cancer Hospital Will Be Queue-Free by December
• Selection of Organization to Provide Psychological Counseling Services

Politics

If MPs N. Altankhuyag and B. Naidalaa are found guilty in the Development Bank case, their parliamentary immunity may be affected

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

The parliamentary immunity of MP Davaagiin Tsogtbaatar, who was sentenced in the Development Bank case to two years' removal of the right to hold public office and a fine of 20 million tugriks, was questioned for some time, but it is still unclear whether he will be suspended from his seat. According to Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs O. Altangerel, the issue related to MP Dav. Tsogtbaatar has reached a legal deadlock and cannot yet be resolved. While this matter remains unresolved, there may soon be a situation where the parliamentary immunity of two more MPs is brought into question. Specifically, MPs N. Altankhuyag and B. Naidalaa are both involved in the Development Bank case. Initially, the trial and appeal court acquitted N. Altankhuyag of his charges and dropped the case, but the Supreme Court of Mongolia decided that the case should be reconsidered by the lower court. "KEY CIRCUMSTANCES WERE OVERLOOKED IN THE CASE RELATED TO N. ALTANKHUYAG" To clarify further, former Prime Minister N. Altankhuyag and former Minister of Economic Development N. Batbayar were charged with abusing their authority to purchase a road built by "Gobi Road" LLC for the government using funding from the Development Bank, and for issuing a loan from the Development Bank to "Beren" LLC in 2014. Although trial and appeal courts dismissed these charges, the Supreme Court found that the conclusions did not match the actual facts of the case and that key circumstances were overlooked. Therefore, the Supreme Court partially sustained the prosecution's objection, canceled the acquittals of N. Altankhuyag, N. Batbayar, B. Shinebaatar, and N. Munkhbat, and ordered a retrial to determine their guilt. "B. NAIDALAA'S CASE TO BE RETRIED BY THE LOWER COURT" As for the case against MP B. Naidalaa, the trial court acquitted him, but the appeals court decided to send it back for retrial at the same level. The Supreme Court upheld this, so his case will also be retried in the lower court. The review court stated that the trial court did not make factual findings on each defendant's actions and participation based on the evidence, nor did it make legal evaluations of the circumstances, such as how the Board of Directors and Executive Management of the Development Bank made financing decisions within the limited amounts set by law and regulations. As such, the trial court did not provide proper legal reasoning. "SUPREME COURT RETURNS DEVELOPMENT BANK CASES TO LOWER COURT" Therefore, the cases involving MPs N. Altankhuyag and B. Naidalaa will soon be heard in the lower court to determine their guilt or innocence. According to sources, the Supreme Court has sent the relevant documents to the lower court, which is expected to schedule the hearings shortly. If former Prime Minister and current MP N. Altankhuyag and MP B. Naidalaa are found guilty in these Development Bank cases and the court's decision is final, their parliamentary immunity will be called into question, potentially repeating the case of MP Dav. Tsogtbaatar.

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G. Temuulen: The Ministry of Finance is preparing to submit a draft law that removes foreign loans and aid from the state budget

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

The Ministry of Finance has drafted a law on "Increasing the Efficiency and Use of Foreign Loans." Regarding this, Member of Parliament G. Temuulen said, "There is a discussion happening about removing foreign loans and assistance from the state budget. This is something that is unacceptable both in theory and in principle. If we follow this approach, we could end up deceiving ourselves, making our budget look good by keeping the balance without deficit while removing welfare expenses or current expenditures. Even households, when managing their finances, plan their income, expenses, and loan repayment schedules. The Ministry of Finance has developed a draft law on ‘Increasing the Efficiency and Use of Foreign Loans.’ After developing this law, the government itself is trying to have members sign and submit it, instead of submitting it themselves. This is wrong," he said.

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T. Badral, Former Chief of the National Emergency Management Agency and Former Ambassador, to be Appointed as the New Director of 'Erdenet Factory' Soon

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

There have been ongoing reports since last fall suggesting that T. Badral, the former chief of the National Emergency Management Agency and former ambassador, or B. Tsengel, the head of the State Property Policy and Regulation Agency, might be appointed as the new director of 'Erdenet' State-Owned Enterprise. Though he was investigated for corruption by the Anti-Corruption Agency, the case was returned by the prosecutor two years later due to lack of evidence. It is now agreed that T. Badral, the former chief of the National Emergency Management Agency and former ambassador, will soon be appointed as the director of this plant. His frequent appearances at the State Palace seem to be related to this appointment. According to established practice in politics, the President must appoint his own trusted person to this position. T. Badral is known to be a close friend of President U. Khurelsukh, and no one can deny that he came to this role with the President’s influence. In fact, he was appointed as chief of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in 2015 when the current president was Deputy Prime Minister. Five years ago, while still serving as NEMA chief, he was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of China. It has been reported in the media that appointing him as ambassador, while he was under investigation at the Anti-Corruption Agency, was a deliberate move to exempt him from the case. Specifically, it was established through investigation and confirmed by inquiry that he had tampered with NEMA tenders, supplied used cars, acquired 400 million MNT worth of firefighting equipment without a tender, spent half a billion MNT of the budget to build a garage for his associate’s son-in-law, and spent 160 million MNT on substandard repair work. There was also an issue regarding vehicles worth about 50,000 USD reportedly imported from Russia for NEMA, which later faded from public attention. The case went through legal institutions for about two years, before being returned by the prosecutor due to insufficient evidence, according to media reports. T. Badral previously worked in the Foreign Trade Department of Erdenet Plant. T. Badral has experience working at Erdenet Plant and in the mining sector. Specifically, he graduated from the Higher Command School of Border Guards in Moscow, USSR (1984-1988), studied international relations and French studies at the School of International Relations, National University of Mongolia (1990-1994), and business administration at the School of Finance and Economics (1998-2000). He holds a master’s degree in business administration. Since 1994, he has worked in the Foreign Trade Department of Mongolian-Russian joint Erdenet Plant, as a foreign trade manager at the Mongolian-American joint copper factory, as executive director of Golden Forchuk LLC, as an expert and senior expert at the General Agency for Disaster Management (2004 onward), as section chief, department head, and deputy head at NEMA (since 2005), as chief of NEMA (since 2015), and as ambassador to China from 2021 to 2024. He holds the rank of Major General. Apart from T. Badral, appointments for directors of 'Erdenes Mongol' LLC and 'Erdenes Tavantolgoi' JSC are expected soon as well. According to sources, B. Tsengel, the head of the State Property Policy and Regulation Agency, is being considered for the director’s position of 'Erdenes Mongol' LLC, and N. Tserenbat, director of 'Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi', is being discussed for the directorship of 'Erdenes Tavantolgoi' JSC.

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EVENTS: Members of Parliament to Provide Information on the Draft Law to Reduce the Individual Income Tax from 10% to 1%

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

At 10:00 AM in the State Palace, the regular spring session of the Parliament will be held. At 11:00 AM, Members of Parliament including J. Bayarmaa will provide information regarding the draft law developed in response to the proposal from 100,000 citizens to reduce the Individual Income Tax from 10% to 1%. At 10:30 AM, at the Management Academy, representatives of the faculty have called a press conference regarding the General Audit Office's conclusion about the illegal activities of the Director of the Academy, D. Sürenchimeg. At 11:00 AM at the State Special Service Staff's Unified Hospital, the 9th "Scientific Conference-2025" of the Unified Hospital for State Special Service Staff will be held. During this event, the results of preventive health screening conducted on state military and law enforcement employees will be presented, including findings of the leading causes of illness as calculated using artificial intelligence. At 11:00 AM in the "National Information Center", M. Mendbayar from Globe Savings and Credit Cooperative, together with the victims, will claim 50 billion MNT from the state. Until the issue is resolved, they plan to implement a business project with the victims, using the profits to compensate for the remaining losses. Additionally, Member of Parliament J. Bayarmaa will provide a rebuttal with evidence against the allegations accusing her of misappropriating Globe Cooperative's assets. M. Mendbayar, former head of Globe Cooperative, and A. Altantuya, executive director of the Victims' Society of Savings and Credit Cooperatives, will also provide information regarding the initiation of criminal proceedings against a woman named Oyuntsetseg, who claims to be a victim of the cooperative. At 11:30 AM, the Mongolian Nurses Association will hold a briefing on the topic: "The One-Time Opportunity for Nurses – Where is the Palace for the Advancement of Nursing?" At 12:30 PM at the Corporate Convention Center, a press conference for the "In Da Khuree" concert featuring Boogii, Desant, and Ginjin will be held. At 2:00 PM at the Ulaanbaatar Hotel, the Ulaanbaatar Chamber of Commerce will organize a discussion on "Tender – Private Sector Participation". Notice:
Media organizations (television, radio, social media, and web pages) are prohibited from fully or partially using our information in any form. Usage is only permitted with agreement and proper attribution to the source (ikon.mn).

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The Constitutional Court Should Stop Kh. Nyambaatar's Madness of Turning Ulaanbaatar into 14 Cities

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

According to the State Great Khural (Parliament) Resolution No. 72 of 2024 on Establishing Cities, the decision to change the administrative boundaries of Ulaanbaatar's districts and divide them into 14 local-level cities has been postponed for one year. Citizen D. Üürtsaikh and others have appealed to the Constitutional Court, claiming that the decision violates the Constitution. Specifically, the Constitution grants the power to independently resolve the economic and social issues of a territory solely to representative bodies of citizens and local self-governing organizations. The 2019 constitutional amendment included a clause allowing some powers of local administration and citizens' khurals to be transferred to the city and township administration. Under the guise of implementing this, they are abolishing the Citizens' Khural. This initiative was proposed by the city's mayor Kh. Nyambaatar and Member of Parliament J. Aldarjavkhlan. Although the Law on Cities and Towns is said to be decentralizing power by concentrating the authority of all cities in the capital, this is patently untrue. The Constitutional Court must stop Kh. Nyambaatar's madness. If Ulaanbaatar is divided into 14 cities, there will be areas with no land and no population. Who will exercise government leadership in those places? What will happen if the regulations they have issued contradict each other, they asked.

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J. Bayarmaa: A Bill to Reduce Personal Income Tax to 1 Percent Has Been Submitted to the Government

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

Member of Parliament J. Bayarmaa provided information regarding a bill to reduce personal income tax (PIT) from 10 percent to 1 percent. This bill was developed in response to a proposal supported by 100,000 citizens. She stated, "Two weeks ago, upon the initiative of citizen Shinegerel, 100,000 people supported the proposal to make PIT 1 percent and signed electronically on the Parliament website. These signatures were collected within just one week. It is our duty as Members of Parliament to implement this. At that time, we held a press conference on this issue. Since then, we drafted the bill to reduce PIT to one percent. Furthermore, it has been submitted through the public petition and complaints system and currently has the status of being under review. Citizens have the full right to provide their suggestions and share their solutions. On May 5, we submitted our developed bill to reduce PIT to one percent to the government. Specifically, it was sent to the Prime Minister of Mongolia, L. Oyun-Erdene." "As we previously mentioned, there is great tax pressure. All citizens are talking about this. Therefore, our principle is to stop the practice of collecting high taxes from citizens with insufficient income to cover government spending. Thus, we have initiated a bill to reduce all six types of PIT to one percent. Once the process according to law is completed, we will submit it to the Speaker of Parliament." "There is a saying: if citizens are prosperous, the nation is prosperous. So, for a person with a salary of two million MNT, if they are no longer subject to the 9 percent PIT, they would keep 180,000 MNT, which would become real income for them. At the very least, this will allow people to buy a sack of flour and a bag of rice. While this amount may be pocket change for billionaires born out of the government, for ordinary citizens, it is not the case." "According to the 2025 budget outlook, a shortfall of 2.5 trillion MNT is predicted if this is implemented. Generating this 2.5 trillion MNT is quite feasible—we can subtract this amount during the 2026 budget income calculation and estimate revenues from the roughly 900,000 taxpayers by reducing their contributions by 9 percent accordingly, then reduce expenditure by the same proportion. Some are asking whether this is possible, and my answer is yes, it is possible. If you recall, during the 2025 budget discussion, a budget of 33.8 trillion MNT was proposed. MPs requested to reduce it, and although the Finance Minister initially said cuts were not possible, after the President's veto, it was resubmitted at 33 trillion MNT a week later. The Finance Minister had stated that options for reducing the budget were already prepared." "Therefore, I am confident that this time as well, the Ministry of Finance can calculate and present options to reduce the burden on citizens' shoulders, even if just a little. I also hope citizens will review the bill we have prepared."

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G. Temuulen: The Ministry of Finance is making amendments to the 2025 budget for the third time

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

The regular session of the State Great Khural (Parliament) has started. On May 7, at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Budget, Member of Parliament G. Damdinyam presented the conclusion of discussions regarding the nomination for the position of Auditor General of Mongolia. Member of Parliament G. Damdinyam: - S. Magnai-Suren has been nominated for the position of Auditor General and the nomination was submitted to Parliament. The candidate hearing was organized on May 7, attended by members of the Budget Standing Committee, the nominee S. Magnai-Suren, four other registered participants, and one observer citizen. The hearing was closed for the members who attended, and by majority vote, the members agreed that S. Magnai-Suren meets the requirements for this position. The hearing report has been posted on Parliament's website and sent to the Speaker and all members. During the committee's discussion of this matter, members neither asked questions nor made remarks. The committee members supported the appointment of S. Magnai-Suren to the position of Auditor General of Mongolia and the release of D. Zagjdjav from the post due to the expiration of his term. Member of Parliament G. Temuulen: - The auditing organization plays a primary role in exercising the oversight function of the highest state body, the Parliament. Essentially, the auditing organization must work independently to provide professional evaluations and support effective, transparent, and improved internal controls over state finance and the budget. Therefore, I believe that the new leadership, being a professional, will perform well. However, the new management must work independently from the Ministry of Finance, the Minister, and the Government. I highlight this for a reason. There is one thing I must point out. It has become a big joke. Both the nominee for auditor and all Parliament members should pay close attention to this. The draft law "On Enhancing the Use and Efficiency of Foreign Loans" was practically prepared by the Ministry of Finance and others. Parliament members were given the impression that they were going to submit this bill and got signatures from about 40 members. This bill is about issuing our budgetary debt abroad. No matter how we name this foreign loan or fool ourselves, we will eventually have to repay the debt. First, the Ministry of Finance must stop introducing bills with the signatures of parliament members without their knowledge. I believe the Ministry of Finance has become an expert in legal manipulation. The 2024 budget amendment was done this way. Now, the same approach is being used to amend the 2025 budget. This is, essentially, the third time they are adjusting the 2025 budget. They must address this issue with the proper approach. Perhaps I'm about to offer a bad example. About 10 years ago, one MP suggested replacing the word 'debt' with 'payable.' This, however, is an even worse situation. No matter what legal terminology is changed, we will still have to pay back the loan. If we follow this foolishness from the Ministry of Finance, every indebted household in Mongolia could just deduct their loan from their own accounts and pretend they're debt-free for a while, only for families and the country as a whole to go bankrupt. Such things should not be done. The main economic indicators have worsened. We must correct this. The fiscal and financial situation has deteriorated. People's livelihoods are difficult. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance must stop approaching economic issues in this manner. Today, three issues will be discussed during the session: - Appointment and dismissal of the Auditor General; - A conclusion by the Constitutional Court regarding whether clause 72.1 on the Law of Parliamentary Elections violates the Constitution; - Draft amendments to the Law on Legislation and related bills and resolutions submitted together. It has now been decided to dismiss D. Zagjdjav from the position of Auditor General of Mongolia and appoint S. Magnai-Suren as his successor.

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Parliament: Discussing the Appointment of the Chief Auditor

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

At the plenary session of the State Great Khural (Parliament), the issue of appointing S. Magnai-Suren as the Chief Auditor of Mongolia is currently being discussed. According to Article 28.1 of the Law on State Audit, the Chief Auditor of Mongolia is appointed by the State Great Khural upon the recommendation of the Speaker, following a hearing with the nominee, for a term of six years. Following this provision, the Standing Committee on Budget organized a hearing for the nominee on May 7, 2025. After the hearing, the Standing Committee on Budget discussed the nomination, and all participating members unanimously supported S. Magnai-Suren's appointment as Chief Auditor. Note: Media organizations (TV, radio, social media, and websites) are prohibited from using our information in whole or in part in any manner without prior agreement, except when citing the source (ikon.mn).

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B. Ganzorig: The Director of the Academy of Management, D. Surenchimeg, committed procurement violations totaling over ₮2 billion

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

Today, representatives of the faculty of the Academy of Management held a press conference regarding the conclusions of the General Audit Authority related to the illegal actions of the Academy's director, D. Surenchimeg. Specifically, they reported that in 2024, in just one year, the Academy had more than 2 billion tugriks in procurement and other financial violations, as stated in the financial audit report. B. Ganzorig, the senior lecturer at the Department of Economic and Financial Management at the Academy of Management, provided the following information: "I am a teacher at the Department of Economic and Financial Management at the Academy. Since my background is in finance, I am interested in the organization's financial statements and balance sheets. The audit conclusion for the Academy's 2024 financial statements shows considerable violations. Therefore, it is necessary for the faculty, staff, and employees to take action to address these issues. On May 6, 2025, an official letter was sent to the Chief of the Government Secretariat, N. Uchral. This letter stated that the director of the Academy of Management under the Government Secretariat, D. Surenchimeg, abused her position and repeatedly committed actions with potential criminal characteristics." He continued: "The reason we consider these actions to have criminal characteristics is that, based on the consolidated data for 2024 (one year), there were violations related to procurement and other issues totaling over 2 billion tugriks. This is evident from the audit conclusion of the financial statements." He added: "The financial audit conclusion is subject to limitations, specifically referenced in the audit No. 071511 dated April 16, 2024. To give an example from the report: 1.2 billion tugriks were used to produce a documentary film, but instead of conducting an open bidding process, the contract was signed through direct procurement. This is considered corrupt and as granting undue privilege to others. Normally, officials authorized to manage budgets are permitted to make direct purchases of items valued up to 20 million tugriks. However, in this case, direct procurement was made for 1.2 billion tugriks, which is a massive violation." Another issue: The Academy of Management is an institution with a 100-year history. The government allocated about 1.2 billion tugriks in the budget for organizing the 100th anniversary celebrations. However, the event was actually organized at a cost of about 2.2 billion tugriks, exceeding the allocated budget by over a billion. As previously mentioned, there were cases where higher-level orders and directives were ignored or violated. As for the sources and proof for these numbers, they are based on the National Audit Office's report on the Academy's 2024 financial statement. This report served as the documented evidence submitted to the relevant authorities." When asked by journalists whether Director D. Surenchimeg was being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency, B. Ganzorig responded: "I cannot provide detailed information on this matter. There is information that representatives of faculty and staff have previously approached law enforcement agencies, but we have not examined the matter in detail. For us, rather than focusing on when and where that person made mistakes, if there is documented evidence, we want the violations and shortcomings to be rectified. We are working to seek redress for both the economic and emotional damages." Note:
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Economy

TDB Participated in the 'Mongolian Investment Forum: New York 2025'

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

The "Mongolian Investment Forum: New York 2025" was held with the goal of promoting the development of Mongolia's capital market internationally and expanding cooperation. Randolph Koppa, Chairman of the Board of the Trade and Development Bank, participated in the forum on behalf of the bank. During the forum, international financial institutions, investors, policy makers, and representatives of the private sector exchanged views on global and Mongolian economic and capital market development, financial stability, poverty reduction, ways to increase access to green financing, and the development of a climate-resilient financial system. At the forum, the TDB’s Chairman, Randolph Koppa, highlighted that although there are challenges related to investment and policies for the energy transition, in Mongolia, the favorable policy environment fostered by the joint efforts of government and private sector, tailored to the country's needs, circumstances, and energy resources, is accelerating the energy transition. Energy transition and sustainable development are of vital importance in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in major sectors of the Mongolian economy, increasing resilience to climate change impacts, and supporting the growth of the green economy. TDB, as an accredited entity of the Green Climate Fund, is devoted to contributing to sustainable development across all sectors of Mongolia’s economy. The bank aims to set good practices for the development of Mongolia’s financial market to facilitate the energy transition, attract foreign investment and finance, expand cooperation with domestic and international partners, and particularly focus on the green transition. TOGETHER FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Notice:
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G. Temuulen: Although we projected economic growth at 7%, it is now struggling to even reach 4%

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

Member of Parliament G. Temuulen answered journalists' questions today regarding economic growth and the budget. He said, “Coal exports have dropped by 40%, while imports have increased. When imports go up, currency rates and inflation rise, and the value of the tugrik begins to fall. This, in turn, makes life harder for the public and causes demand-driven price increases. We need to face the actual situation and make a revision to the budget. We should cut luxury expenses. We need to proceed with a domestic oil refinery to replace imports. But making amendments to the budget through legal loopholes is not acceptable. When we made the budget amendment, we projected economic growth at 7%. Now, it is not even reaching four percent.”

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Entrepreneurs Spend an Average of 12 Days Receiving Government Services

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: unuudur.mn

The Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has presented the results of the "Bureaucracy Index and Cost" study. The bureaucracy index for government services related to business activities is rated on a scale of five, and the 2024 study yielded a score of 2.85. This is an improvement of 0.13 units compared to 2021, but the index has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, entrepreneurs spend an average of 12 days to receive a single government service, and 65 percent of them report that repeatedly providing the same information to different government agencies is a burden. The main reasons the index has not improved significantly are that the information required to obtain government services is not transparent or accessible, there is insufficient real business participation in policy formulation, and there are many overlapping regulations. Furthermore, while the general assessment of the ethics, communication, and attitudes of government employees has improved compared to other indicators, the survey found that the coordination between agencies is poor and bureaucracy remains high. About this, L. Tör-Od, president of the MNCCI, stated: "We conducted the 'Bureaucracy Index and Cost' study for the first time in collaboration with the International Labour Organization as part of the initiative to formalize the economy. Our aim was to identify not only bureaucratic hurdles in government services but also business costs and the specific difficulties faced by small, medium, and start-up businesses. The coordination between government agencies remains weak. For example, when submitting tax reports, obtaining permits, or registering, duplicate documents are often required. Or they might require paper submissions even though the report has already been submitted electronically. Ultimately, bureaucratic hurdles in government services affect small and start-up businesses the most." U. Süren

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V. Putin: Trade Turnover Between Russia and Mongolia Increased by 25%

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

The trade turnover between Russia and Mongolia increased by 25% during the first two months of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at the start of his meeting with the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh. “Mongolia is an important trade partner for our country. Last year, trade between our two countries grew by 17.5%, and in the first two months of this year, it increased again by more than 25%,” said V. Putin. He also noted that Russia has always responded to the requests of its Mongolian friends in various areas, including cooperation in the energy sector, which is an important and sensitive issue for Mongolia. Putin emphasized that the comprehensive strategic partnership established with neighboring and friendly Mongolia is one of the top priorities of Russian policy. “Political dialogue is actively conducted, the heads of government meet regularly, and the consultation mechanisms between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs are working effectively. Cooperation in defense and security, inter-parliamentary relations, as well as collaboration in culture and education, are all steadily developing,” he highlighted.

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O.Batnairamdal: Mongolia must clarify its profits from the two licenses held by Ontre LLC

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

Member of Parliament O. Batnairamdal held a briefing regarding the issue of Ontre LLC, the holder of two special permits from the Oyu Tolgoi group deposit. He stated that Oyu Tolgoi LLC and Ontre LLC formalized a profit-sharing agreement based on arbitration court conditions on February 3, 2025. Specifically, a 76-page agreement was formalized. The Oyu Tolgoi group deposit is the country's top strategic deposit. According to Article 5.6 of the Minerals Law, if a private entity conducts exploration and identifies a deposit, there are legal provisions either for owning 34% free of charge or replacing it with a royalty. However, when formalizing this profit-sharing and cooperation agreement, the participation and interests of the Mongolian side were not mentioned at all. The two licenses owned by Ontre cover an area of 62,000 square meters, and "30% of Oyu Tolgoi's total ore, 42% of its gold, 24% of its copper, 29% of its silver, and 94% of its molybdenum" are located there. In other words, for 22 years, two very large resource licenses have been controlled by a foreign company. Oyu Tolgoi LLC and Ontre LLC agreed to share profits 20% to 80%. The fact that two foreign companies can share profits from Mongolia's largest strategic deposit while neglecting the rights and interests of Mongolia is tragic. Although we own 34% of Oyu Tolgoi, we are not allowed to sell our share of copper concentrate ourselves. Ontre LLC, however, under this agreement, is allowed to market and sell its share of the copper concentrate and products. The Government of Mongolia, under a stabilization agreement, receives a royalty (AMNAT) of 5% from Oyu Tolgoi's revenue. However, the agreement also allows Ontre LLC to calculate and receive a 2% royalty. Second, our dividends from Oyu Tolgoi are often delayed, mainly due to large, high-interest loans. When the interest rates are considered, it means we are borrowing with an approximately 10% interest rate in dollars. Also, Ontre LLC borrows from Oyu Tolgoi, but it gets loans with an interest rate 4.5% lower than ours. Calculations show that this results in another discrepancy amounting to billions of dollars. Mining on the two license areas held by Ontre LLC will begin in 2025. Therefore, the government should negotiate with Oyu Tolgoi and formalize through Parliament precisely what benefits Mongolia will get from this.

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Discussion on Collaboration with IFC

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

S. Narantsogt, CEO of Erdenes Mongol LLC, met with Ms. Valerie Leclov, Director of Energy and Metals Mining at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to discuss potential opportunities for collaboration. At the beginning of the meeting, CEO S. Narantsogt expressed his gratitude to the IFC representatives for visiting and discussing possibilities to develop cooperation between the two sides. He introduced the company's policies, activities, and major projects currently being implemented. Following this, the IFC inquired about the policies held by the government and Erdenes Mongol regarding the "Oyu Tolgoi" project, as well as strategic projects like "Zuun-Ovoo" and other key mineral resource initiatives. There was also discussion about projects that could be jointly implemented between Erdenes Mongol LLC and the IFC. Erdenes Mongol highlighted its goal, within its 2024-2028 mid-term strategic plan, to establish production and technology parks in six locations based on major deposits, factories, and their supporting infrastructures under its umbrella. They emphasized their interest in attracting international banking and financial institutions, as well as private sector investments, to establish subsequent-stage factories in these parks. In conclusion, the parties discussed joint solutions for financing the "First Ring Road" project aimed at easing traffic congestion in Ulaanbaatar and agreed to plan and organize the next stage meetings to develop and implement other projects and measures.

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Report: Citizens Spend Their Salaries on Flour, Meat, and Potatoes

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

A blue spring day. The area around the Bumbugur market is quite busy. Inside, there are also many people. There are relatively fewer people at the beauty, fruit, and household goods stalls, while the stalls selling daily essentials are clearly the busiest, as these are needed every day. Observing the shoppers, most of them were buying noodles, vegetable oil, flour, and vegetables. Tungalagtamir, a woman wearing an orange apron who moves briskly and answers customers' questions without irritation, has been renting a food stall at the Bumbugur market for over 10 years. According to her, the price of everyday goods has been rising daily since the New Year. "There have been many people these last two days. That's because salaries are deposited on the 5th and 20th of every month, and pensions are paid on the 1st. At these times, purchases increase. At other times, there are days with no income at all. Recently, the prices of goods imported from Russia have risen significantly. Vegetable oil, in particular, has become very expensive. Five liters of oil now sell for 28,000-32,000 tugriks. Noodles have also increased in price. There aren't as many varieties of tea as before. Since flour, rice, and noodles are daily necessities, people buy according to their needs. Life has really become harder for people. As someone who's been here for more than 10 years, I know. Two or three years ago, one could buy enough flour, rice, oil, salt, and sugar for almost a month's supply for 100,000 tugriks. Now, that amount only covers a week's needs. Taxes are charged at every step—road usage fees, vehicle tax increased, yet look at the roads they're making us pay to use. I wish they'd care for the people the way they take payments. But nobody listens to us." Depending on the variety, 5 kg of rice costs between 18,000 and 32,000 tugriks, with Sakura rice being the most expensive, sold at 45-50,000 tugriks per 5 kg, so not many buy it. Flour prices have not increased in recent months. "Altan Taria" flour is the most expensive, while Dornod and Khurkh flour are cheaper and therefore more popular among shoppers. For example, Altan Taria flour costs 11,000 for 5 kg, 30,000 for 10 kg, and 70,000 for 25 kg. Ulaanbaatar flour is 12,500 for 5 kg, 25,000 for 10 kg, and 55,000 for 25 kg. SPENDING 400,000 TUGRIKS JUST ON MEAT PER MONTH
Davadaalai's family consists of seven people. They spend 700,000-800,000 tugriks per month on food. Because there are many members, they buy flour in 25 kg sacks. This barely lasts a month for them. They spend the most on meat. He says, "We buy food twice a month, right after getting paid. From the first paycheck, we buy flour and rice; on the next payday, we buy meat and other essentials. We spend most of our money on meat since there's so many of us. We use a kilo of meat in just two days. Last week, beef was 22,940 tugriks per kilo, but now it's 24,000. Since we have many people, one kilo only lasts two days. We spend about 400,000 a month just on meat. A year ago, milk was 4,200, now it's 4,700 tugriks. The price of flour products has also increased significantly. Once prices go up, they never go down. We use one salary to pay off loans, utilities, mobile, TV, and other expenses. With the other salary, we buy food. Even with a combined income of about 3 million tugriks, we can't save anything, just survive. Needs are endless. Bread and pastries are the main breakfast and lunch for most families. Just for lunch tea, we spend 20,000 tugriks. That's how our days go. I think most families are like ours," he smiles. AVERAGE DAILY SPENDING IS 55,400 TUGRIKS
I tested how much it costs to buy food for one day's meals and tea. I bought one packet of deep-fried pastries (9,000), "Deej" milk (4,700), yogurt (5,600), one kilogram mix of potatoes, carrots, and beets (5,500), one cabbage (3,500), one kilogram of Altan Taria flour (3,100), and one kilogram of boneless beef (24,000). The total came to 55,400 tugriks for these six essential items needed for a family's daily consumption. This is about the daily cost for a family of five. MOST GOODS HAVE RISEN 200-2000 TUGRIKS IN A YEAR
As of April 22, the prices of some main goods increased by 1.5% compared to the previous month and by 0.5% from last week. Vegetables have risen by about 10-140 tugriks per kilogram. For example, potatoes were 1,345 last week, now 1,359 tugriks. Carrots were 2,992 last week and are 3,171 this week. Onions rose from 3,758 to 3,886 tugriks. Meat prices have also gone up compared to last week. Beef with bones was 19,990 last week, now it's 20,153. Boneless beef is 22,940 tugriks, an increase of around 400 from last month. Horse meat increased by around 100 tugriks from last week, and goat meat rose by 642 from last week and 1,329 from last month. Over the past year, most products have become 200-2,000 tugriks more expensive. As of the 5th of this month, the price of vegetable oil had increased by 4.24% or 6,551 tugriks compared to last week. Sugar costs between 4,500-6,790 tugriks in markets and stores. Russian eggs average 570-650 tugriks each. At Bumbugur market, eggs were 500 tugriks. Mongolian potatoes cost 1,000-1,500 in markets and stores, with Khuuchit Shonkhor market selling the cheapest at 1,000 and Kharkhorin market selling at the highest price of 1,500. Domestic carrots cost between 3,000-4,000 tugriks, according to the National Statistics Office.

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Imports Increase by 3.9 Percent

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

In the first four months of this year, our country imported goods and products originating from 130 countries around the world. Of the total imports, 35.2 percent were from China, 26.7 percent from Russia, 13.2 percent from Japan, 4.4 percent from the United States, and 4.1 percent from South Korea, which together account for 82.5 percent of the total import value. According to the General Customs Administration, during this period, goods and raw materials worth 3,559.4 million US dollars were imported. This is an increase of 133.2 million US dollars, or 3.9 percent, compared to the same period last year.

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World's Best Arrive in Mongolia to Attend 'Power expo & Festival'

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: unuudur.mn

As part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the establishment and development of the automotive transport sector in our country, the "Power expo & Festival," an international automobile and motorcycle event, will kick off tomorrow in Ulaanbaatar. The event is being organized by the Capital City Governor's Office in cooperation with the Mongolian Professional Motorsport Association and "VIP auto" club. The festival will conclude on the 11th of this month, with world-renowned drift and motorcycle athletes from seven countries arriving in Ulaanbaatar to participate. For instance, six athletes led by Akinori Utsu and one judge from Japan have arrived. He is one of the top drivers in the D1 GP. Last year, representing his country at the "Power expo & Festival," the Japanese team lost in total score to the team from China. At that event, the Chinese team, who brought their own vehicles, became champions. This time, it is clear that the Japanese athletes aim to claim the title from their rivals. From South Korea, the Southeast Asia champion Si Hyun and drift athlete Sang Hwa, as well as car driver and model Sara Choi from the USA, have all confirmed their flights and arrived in Mongolia. She will not only compete in the "International drift cup" at the festival but also serve as a guest judge in Mongolia's first "Racing top model" competition. The festival will kick off by identifying the Asian drifting champion, beginning with competitions in moto day-motoGP, mopedGP, ebike, cruiser, and kids endure motorcycle races. On the 10th, the festival will continue with drift competitions for both amateur and professional categories. The final day will showcase the "International drift cup," a team competition featuring international athletes. During the festival, there will also be entertainment including a music festival, an automobile and motorcycle expo, extreme competitions, and an exhibition sale of various products.

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Major Taxpayers Contributing to the State Budget Named

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

Among state-owned companies, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, and from the private sector, Energy Resources LLC, have topped the list of major taxpayers for 2024. These companies are the main contributors to Mongolia's state budget, shouldering a significant portion of the unified state budget's tax revenue of 27.4 trillion MNT for 2024, creating jobs, and generating wealth. In 2024, Energy Resources LLC is expected to contribute a total of over 600 billion MNT to the state budget and has consistently ranked among the top taxpayers for more than 10 years. In total, over the past 16 years, the company has paid about 2.6 trillion MNT in taxes to the state budget. Detailed information on the major taxpayers who have made valuable contributions to Mongolia's state budget can be found on the official website of the General Department of Taxation. The General Department of Taxation has expressed its gratitude to all the companies and individuals that drive development and diligently pay their taxes. Note: The use of this information by media organizations (TV, radio, social media, and websites) is prohibited in whole or in part in any form unless agreed upon, and if so, must credit the source (ikon.mn).

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J. Mendsbayar: The decision of the commission that evaluated ‘Glob’s assets was nullified by three levels of courts. Therefore, we are claiming ₮50 billion from the government

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

J. Mendsbayar, founder of the 'Glob Credit' Savings and Credit Cooperative (SCC), gave a press briefing today. Together with the cooperative's victims, he has petitioned the state for damages amounting to ₮50 billion. In 2007, he was sentenced to 10 years in a high-security prison for allegedly defrauding citizens out of large sums of money under the guise of building apartments or selling bonds. He was released from prison on April 30, 2015. After his release, he publicly announced that properties registered in his name had been unlawfully disposed of while he was in prison. J. Mendsbayar said, “In recent days, there has been much information circulating directed at Member of Parliament J. Bayarmaa. These concern not her political actions but rather details about her older brother, myself, and the victims of 'Glob Credit' SCC. That is why I am addressing the press. I am the eldest of four siblings; J. Bayarmaa is my youngest. For the past few days, I’ve been worried about the Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene’s reaction to my sister’s inquiries. Immediately after that, the cooperative issue was brought in, and now I am surprised and unsure what to do. I haven’t seen Bayarmaa since Lunar New Year nor talked to her on the phone due to busyness.” “A few days ago, it was mentioned that a serious tip-off was sent to our cooperative’s victims by a person named Kh. Oyuntsetseg. According to her, J. Bayarmaa, who allegedly controls some hidden assets of ‘Glob’, did not intend to compensate victims using her owned assets nor help her brother or other victims, which is why the Democratic Party has demanded her accountability and announced a protest. In reality, it is I who should be protesting, even going on a hunger strike.” “Secondly, it has been exactly 19 years since I was arrested on Friday night, April 14, 2006. At the time, a criminal case was opened and the assets in my name and those associated with me were seized. The mayor of the time set up a valuation commission to assess 'Glob’s assets, even though the cooperative did not own any property linked to the city. Regardless, official letters were issued and the commission was created. When I looked into this after my release, I found the head of the city’s veterinary department was on the commission, although we did not even own any livestock. There are many such issues.” “In total, 30,000 items in 1,462 categories were evaluated. The commission assessed these assets at ₮4.3 billion, and based on this, the court sentenced me. The overall damage was calculated at ₮11.8 billion. Since my assets were valued at ₮4.3 billion, the court considered that I had embezzled the remaining amount and sentenced me. The case files include an expert conclusion from the National Center of Forensic Science, with lists of accounts and transactions used at the time. I do not know what 'hidden assets' are being referred to.” “In the end, after these proceedings, I was convicted at all three court levels. After being released in 2015, I appealed to the administrative court regarding the asset valuation. My complaint stated that the mayor’s commission appointed to evaluate ‘Glob’s assets could not properly assess the assets. I chose five assets from those previously mentioned and filed a claim to have them revalued. The court appointed an expert, and a team of 15 members worked for three months and submitted their conclusion. They determined that the five assets, at the time of their seizure, were worth ₮9.2 billion. That is, the mayor’s commission had under-valued the assets at ₮4.3 billion, about half their true value. At 2015 prices, the assets were found to be worth ₮21 billion.” “There are also many other assets that haven’t yet been revalued. If evaluated today, the assets could amount to ₮50–60 billion. The administrative court invalidated the mayor’s commission’s valuation, rendering it legally void. Now we are planning to appeal to the civil court. On the basis of these legal decisions, the court will determine the damage owed to the cooperative. The victims and I will soon claim ₮50 billion from the state in court.” “Someone who fought to declare the state, not the SCCs, at fault is now saying the opposite.” N. Altantuya, director of the ‘Glob Cooperative Victims’ NGO, said, “Kh. Oyuntsetseg and some of us have been fighting about SCCs from the beginning. As a result, we helped get two laws passed by parliament and worked to ensure their implementation. Now, people are saying that all SCC failures and losses are due to Mendsbayar, as if he started the whole domino effect. Regarding ‘Glob Credit’ SCC, Kh. Oyuntsetseg has no right to make such claims.” “In 2014, when N. Altankhuyag was prime minister, we set up a working group to investigate how the government managed the assets it split up. Kh. Oyuntsetseg participated. The investigation found that assets valued at ₮9.8 billion by court decisions had only ₮2.2 billion actually collected by the enforcement agency. Kh. Oyuntsetseg knows this well. Even though Mendsbayar was imprisoned, he remained involved with the victims. That is why the victims requested his release on bail three times.” “According to Kh. Oyuntsetseg, at the time, everyone was calling for Mendsbayar to be killed or hanged, even threatening the judges. One should not make such statements contrary to the truth. She fought to hold the state accountable and have laws passed on two occasions—not to blame Mendsbayar or his sister, MP J. Bayarmaa. Now, blaming them has infuriated us victims.” “If this person’s conscience is really troubled, why isn’t she speaking for all 26 affected cooperatives, but only focusing on ‘Glob’? At that time, the state seized all the assets of Mendsbayar and all related persons. If Kh. Oyuntsetseg wants to play political games, she should only discuss these with Bayarmaa and not use the victims of ‘Glob’ as a shield. She is not a victim or a member of our cooperative.” Note: Media outlets (TV, radio, social and websites) are prohibited from using our material in any form without agreement and must credit the source (ikon.mn) if used by prior arrangement.

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Prices of Goat Meat and Hay Increase by 2-4% in Rural Areas Within a Week

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

According to the National Statistics Office, the average prices of several major food products sold in provincial centers have been released. Specifically, the price of goat meat has increased by 2.5%, reaching 12,434 tugriks per kilogram. Additionally, the price of a bundle of hay has risen by 3.7% to 8,556 tugriks, while the price of white rice has increased by 0.6%, now costing 4,053 tugriks.

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J.Bayarmaa: If a person with a salary of ₮2 million does not have to pay 9% of their Individual Income Tax to the state, they will keep ₮180,000. At least they can buy a sack of flour or a bag of rice

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

With special permission to use the photo from MPA Agency. Regarding the draft law prepared due to the citizen initiative to reduce the Individual Income Tax (IIT) from 10% to 1%, which has been supported by 100,000 citizens, a member of the Democratic Party group in the State Great Khural provided information today. Parliament member J. Bayarmaa stated: "The proposal initiated by citizen R. Shinegerel to reduce the profit tax paid by individuals from 10% to 1% was placed on the e-petition system and was supported by 100,000 people within a week. Implementing this proposal is our duty as MPs, so we held a press conference two weeks ago about initiating a draft law. Since then, we have prepared a draft law to reduce IIT to as low as 1% and posted it on the parliament's website. Currently, it is in the status of 'preparing the draft law.' We hope citizens will go to the parliament's website and leave their comments. Last week, we also sent the draft law we prepared to Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene. Citizens say the tax burden is excessive. The suggestion is to stop taking high taxes from citizens whose income is insufficient for living and spending it on budget expenditures. Why? Because the country of Mongolia consists of Mongolian people. Talk of the nation's development only arises when Mongolians' incomes, even if small, increase. But if the wages and salaries people earn by working are not enough for living and additionally are burdened by taxes, that is not possible under these difficult economic conditions. That’s why we proposed and prepared this draft law to reduce the six types of IIT to 1%. After all legal processes are completed, it will be submitted to the Speaker of Parliament. There is a saying: If the citizen is prosperous, the country will be prosperous. Even if we cannot make citizens rich, at least they should be somewhat relieved from the tax burden. We are doing this so that the 9% can stay with the citizens themselves. For example, a person with a salary of two million tugriks. If they do not have to give 9% of their IIT to the state, they will keep 180,000 tugriks. This money would turn into real income for citizens. At the very least, they can buy a sack of flour or a bag of rice. For billionaire officials, 180,000 tugriks is nothing—it’s pocket change. But for citizens, this is a lot of money. Based on the 2025 budget calculations, a difference of 2.5 trillion tugriks will arise. It's very easy to make up for this. For example, when calculating the 2026 state budget income, you simply subtract an amount of 2.5 billion tugriks and budget accordingly," the information stated. Notice: Media organizations (TV, Radio, Social Media, and Websites) are prohibited from using our information in any form, in full or in part, without consent. They can only use it after agreement and by citing the original source (ikon.mn).

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J. Mendbayar of 'Glob Credit' to Demand 50 Billion from the State

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

J. Mendbayar, the founder of the "Glob Credit" savings and loan cooperative, announced that he will be claiming 50 billion MNT from the state. He stated, "Nineteen years ago, a valuation commission was established to appraise Glob's assets. This commission was set up by the City Mayor's Office at that time. However, the valuation commission assessed 30,000 items of property under 1,462 categories. The commission appraised these properties at 4.3 billion MNT. The court used this valuation as the basis for my conviction. They determined the total damage at 11.8 billion MNT, with assets worth 4.3 billion, and claimed that I had embezzled the remainder, sentencing me to 10 years in prison. After I was released from prison in 2015, I approached the Administrative Court regarding the asset valuation issue. The court appointed an expert to re-appraise the assets. When I selected five items from these assets for re-valuation, their worth was determined to be 9.2 billion MNT. This value is more than twice the amount assessed by the commission established by the Ulaanbaatar city governor. It was established that, according to 2015 prices, the assets' total value was 21 billion MNT. There are also properties that have not been re-appraised. At today's prices, these would amount to 50 or 60 billion MNT. The Administrative Court invalidated the valuation made by the commission appointed by the City Mayor's Office. Now, we will file a complaint with the Civil Court. Both the victims and myself will demand 50 billion MNT from the state," he said.

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M Loyalty: Bringing Discounts, Bonuses, and Cashback Together

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

All the discounts, bonuses, and cashback you need are located in one place. With M Loyalty, you can benefit from simple everyday purchases, savings, and loans—the more you use it, the more you get in return. This is what true loyalty is: rewarding every financial activity you do. If such an opportunity exists, why wouldn't you take advantage of it? M's friends have redesigned M Loyalty to offer even more discounts, bonuses, and cashback to support customers' financial health in the long term. If you want to get discounts and bonuses on your daily necessities—such as purchases at shops, pharmacies, fuel, beauty products, savings, and loans—stick with M Loyalty. The more you use it, the more you get—M Loyalty Notice: Media organizations (TV, Radio, Social and Web pages) are prohibited from fully or partially using our information in any form and may only use it with permission and by citing the source (ikon.mn).

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Diplomacy

President U. Khurelsukh Discussed Issues Like the 'Power of Siberia-2' Pipeline and the Eg River Hydroelectric Power Plant with V. Putin in a Closed Meeting

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

Last night, at the Catherine Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, Vladimir Putin hosted the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, who arrived in Moscow to participate in the 80th anniversary celebration of Victory Day, according to the Kremlin press office. During the meeting, Russian President V. Putin said: "Our two countries share heroic pages in joint history. In 2024, we mark the 85th anniversary of the victory at Khalkhin Gol. We celebrated this day together during my visit to Ulaanbaatar. We remember and are grateful for the victory of August 1945. Mongolia is an important trade partner for Russia. In 2024, the trade turnover increased by 17.5%. In the first two months of this year, it grew by another 25%. We always respect requests from our Mongolian friends, especially in sensitive and important spheres such as energy." President of Mongolia U. Khurelsukh said: "The Great Patriotic War is one of humanity’s important victories for peace and stability in the world. If we talk about the early stages of the Great Patriotic War, the people of Mongolia were always at the side of the Russian people from day one. We did everything possible to overcome this difficult time." According to the Kremlin press office, President Khurelsukh wanted to discuss several issues with Vladimir Putin, the first being the agreement on the renovation and expansion of Ulaanbaatar’s Thermal Power Plant No. 3. During the meeting, a closed discussion was held with the press excluded. Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov and Minister of Energy Sergey Tsivilyov also attended the meeting. According to reports from Baikal-Daily newspaper, matters discussed in the closed section reportedly included Lake Baikal, the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline, selling gas to Mongolia, and the dam of the Eg River hydroelectric power station. Source: Kremlin Press Office, Baikal Daily

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President of Mongolia U. Khurelsukh and President of Russia V. V. Putin Hold Official Meeting

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

At the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin, the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, who is participating in the historic celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War victory, held an official meeting with President Putin of the Russian Federation. During the meeting, President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh of Mongolia conveyed, on behalf of the Mongolian government and people, congratulations to President Putin and the people of Russia on the historic occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. He highlighted that from the very first days of the war, the country and people of Mongolia, under the slogans “Everything for Victory” and “Everything for the Front,” made every effort to provide all-round, unreciprocated assistance to the Soviet Red Army—a fact that history has recorded as one of the most important events in the friendly relations between Mongolia and Russia. He also noted that the personnel of the Mongolian Armed Forces are participating in the ceremonial parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. President V. V. Putin of the Russian Federation expressed his gratitude to President Khurelsukh for accepting his invitation and traveling to Moscow, and emphasized that during the difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, Mongolia and its people provided support and assistance to the Soviet Union—a support that the government and people of Russia have always highly appreciated and attach great importance to. Additionally, during the meeting, the two Presidents exchanged views on a wide range of issues concerning the traditional friendly relations between Mongolia and Russia, as well as cooperation in trade, economy, investment, agriculture, energy, transport and logistics, tourism, environment, and humanitarian spheres. The heads of state of both countries also stressed that they are committed to further developing Mongolia-Russia relations and cooperation on the basis of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

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SELENGA: Virtual Meeting Held with Shizuoka Prefecture Representatives to Expand Cooperation

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

The leaders of Selenge aimag held a virtual meeting yesterday with the representatives of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on expanding cooperation between the two regions and working together in the field of forestry. Participating in the meeting were officials from the Forestry Protection Division and the Foreign Relations Division of the Shizuoka Prefecture Governor's Office, along with specialists. Since 2016, Selenge aimag and Shizuoka Prefecture have signed agreements to cooperate in agriculture and environmental sectors, facilitating the training and professional development of staff and specialists from both regions. In addition, the two sides have been successfully collaborating on adapting new varieties of cultivated plants to the soil conditions of Selenge aimag. Notably, they have grown buckwheat, the main raw material for Japanese soba noodles, on a 40-hectare area in Zuunkhuren soum, Selenge aimag. Moreover, 200 saplings from seven species—including sakura, beech, oak, larch, pine, and azalea—have been brought from Shizuoka and are being cultivated at the seedling nursery of "Oi Bayasakh" LLC, a local forestry organization in Shaamar soum.

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V. Putin and Xi Jinping to Discuss Gas Pipeline Project

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to revisit discussions this week regarding the construction of the "Power of Siberia-2" natural gas pipeline. Putin has tried for many years to persuade China to purchase an additional 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, but his efforts have been unsuccessful. However, this time, Beijing appears willing to make certain concessions on pricing terms, according to a Bloomberg report. China has previously insisted that the gas supplied through the yet-to-be-built "Power of Siberia-2" pipeline should be sold at Russian domestic prices, but during this visit, negotiations may begin to sell at a higher price, sources familiar with the matter told the agency. According to these sources, China is now prepared to negotiate prices based on an average between Russia's domestic rates and the price supplied via the existing "Power of Siberia" pipeline. The first "Power of Siberia" gas pipeline entered operation in 2019, reaching its planned annual capacity of 38 billion cubic meters last December. The proposed "Power of Siberia-2" pipeline could supply up to 50 billion cubic meters annually from Russia's Yamal field, which supplied Europe up until 2022. The new pipeline is planned to be routed through Mongolia to China. However, Bloomberg's sources state that China prefers a direct route from Russia to China, similar to the original "Power of Siberia" pipeline.

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China to Soften Its Position on “Power of Siberia 2”

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to visit Moscow to participate in the Victory Day celebrations. During his visit, he is expected to discuss the long-delayed “Power of Siberia 2” gas pipeline project with President Putin, according to Bloomberg. Putin first proposed the “Power of Siberia 2” cooperation to Xi Jinping in 2022. Since the war in Ukraine, Russia’s share in the European market has declined, prompting the Kremlin to seek partnership with China to compensate. However, China has insisted on pricing the gas supplied through the pipeline at its domestic rate, causing the project to stall. Now, according to Bloomberg, China may agree to pay more this time. The new price would be higher than Russia’s domestic price but still lower than what China currently pays for gas through the “Power of Siberia 1” pipeline. Even if negotiations resume, Xi Jinping is not expected to sign a final agreement during his visit. The “Power of Siberia 1” gas pipeline began operations in 2019 and reached its full capacity by the end of 2023, delivering 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually. If the “Power of Siberia 2” project proceeds, Russia is planning to transport gas from the Yamal fields—previously the main source for European deliveries—to China via Mongolia. However, Bloomberg reports that Chinese authorities are seeking a more direct route to avoid passing through Mongolia. Before the war, Russia exported 150 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe annually. Now, to compensate for lost exports, Russia is relying heavily on the Chinese market. However, even if all available pipelines are used to supply gas to China, only about 98 billion cubic meters can be delivered each year. Specifically, “Power of Siberia 1” accounts for 38 billion, “Power of Siberia 2” for 50 billion, and the Far East pipeline for 10 billion cubic meters per year. It is also noteworthy that the European Union is working towards completely stopping imports of Russian energy. The European Commission announced last Tuesday its plan to phase out Russian imports entirely by the end of 2027. Once the centerpiece of Russia’s economic presence in Europe, Gazprom now plans to export only 47 billion cubic meters to Europe and Turkey this year—a figure five times lower than in 2019. Between 2025 and 2034, the company's budget deficit is projected to reach 15 trillion rubles.

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President Khurelsukh Arrives in Moscow to Attend 80th Anniversary Victory Celebration

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: unuudur.mn

President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh has arrived in Moscow at the invitation of President Vladimir V. Putin of the Russian Federation to participate in the celebration marking the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War Victory, which will take place on May 9, 2025. Upon arrival at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport, President Khurelsukh and the accompanying official delegation were greeted by an honor guard, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia A.Yu. Rudenko, Director of the State Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I.V. Bogdashev, and Mongolia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia, U.Enkhtuvshin. Today, President Khurelsukh is scheduled to hold an official meeting with President Putin to exchange views on relations and cooperation. On May 9, he will attend the Victory Day ceremony in Red Square alongside other heads of state and high-ranking officials, and will lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexandrov Garden. He will also lay flowers at the "Horses Striving for Victory" monument in the Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow, and plans to meet with Soviet and Russian citizens who have been honored as Heroes of Mongolia and Heroes of Labor. The Mongolian Armed Forces’ delegation will also participate in the Victory Parade. Mongolia has previously participated in the parade at the head of state level in 1995, 2005, 2010, and 2015, and the Mongolian Armed Forces participated in events marking the 70th and 75th anniversaries.

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Infrastructure

Russia to Pressure for 'Power of Siberia-2' Gas Pipeline to Pass Through Mongolia During Xi Jinping and Putin Meeting

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in the Victory Day celebration marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany. This marks Xi Jinping's 11th visit to Russia. Xi Jinping was welcomed with honors at Moscow Vnukovo International Airport by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and other high-ranking officials, while his plane was escorted by Russian Air Force fighter jets as it entered Russian airspace. During the visit, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin plan to discuss bilateral relations, energy, trade, regional and international issues, with particular emphasis on the "Power of Siberia-2" gas pipeline project. According to Bloomberg TV Mongolia, China prefers connecting the pipeline directly at the China-Russia border rather than routing it through Mongolia, so Russia is expected to exert pressure on this point during the meeting between Xi Jinping and Putin. Sources from the Chinese government told Bloomberg that China may also agree to reopen negotiations on the previously stalled issue of high sales prices, which had led China to block earlier talks.

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Cooperation to Enhance Micro Mining Rescue Operations Capacity with Canada

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

Colonel Ts. Ganzorig, First Deputy Chief and Chief of Staff of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), met with Her Excellency Ms. Sandra Choufani, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Mongolia. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on cooperation in the field of disaster management between the two countries. They agreed to work together to improve the capacity of micro mining rescue operations and to ensure the safety of people living in mining areas. In addition, they will cooperate in extinguishing forest fires and preventing wildfires.

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Payments Not Being Made to Mongolian Companies Contracted for 'Nogoon Nuur-1008' Project

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: unuudur.mn

Within the policy framework of reducing air and soil pollution in Ulaanbaatar, implementing redevelopment of ger districts, and providing housing to families, the “Nogoon Nuur-1008 Family Apartments” project, funded by China’s government with non-refundable aid, has been underway for 5-6 years. The project unit was established in 2019 and land clearance began, but operations slowed during the pandemic years, as many will recall. Under this project, being implemented in the District IX of Sukhbaatar, apartment buildings funded by a grant of 350 million yuan from the Chinese government began to be constructed. Plans include eight blocks of 21-storey buildings with basements, totaling 84,833 square meters. There will also be a school with a capacity for 960 children and a kindergarten for 240 children. The main contractor for the project is China Second Metallurgical Group Corporation (CSMGC). However, this company has failed to fulfill its obligations under contracts as the main contractor with several Mongolian subcontractors by not paying them on time, which has led to Mongolian workers being unpaid and not even receiving their wages before Lunar New Year. At the time, CSMGC tried to appease the protesting workers by saying they were in talks with the subcontractors, but the situation remains unresolved and the Mongolian companies still have not been paid. ONE SUBCONTRACTOR IS OWED 2.4 BILLION MNT The Ministry of Construction and Urban Development, through the project unit, is responsible for the implementation of the "Nogoon Nuur-1008 Family Apartments" project. According to officials of the unit, companies such as ATTACHR LLC and Serteng have been contracted as subcontractors alongside CSMGC. These subcontractors have been unable to obtain payment for completed work from the main Chinese contractor and have appealed to the project unit leaders to no avail. The official response from the project unit was only, "We advise that disputing parties resolve the issue through mutual understanding." They explained that open disputes between CSMGC and ATTACHR could reflect negatively on the project's reputation between the two governments. One subcontractor, ATTACHR LLC, signed a contract on April 26, 2023, to complete heating, ventilation, and electrical work on five blocks, which they delivered over two years. Upon signing, they were required by CSMGC to deposit 178.7 million MNT (5% of the contract value) in an account in the Trade and Development Bank as a performance guarantee, and 30% of each progress payment was held as further retention. From June 9, 2023, to January 17 of this year, over 1.6 million yuan (about 787.5 million MNT) was withheld by the Chinese enterprise. The subcontractors expressed concerns in their complaints about whether this amount is still in the account or has been used by CSMGC. As a result of not being paid, ATTACHR has been unable to pay workers' salaries, taxes, other expenses, and debts, and despite workers' protests outside the project site during Lunar New Year, the issue remains unresolved. During the course of mechanical installation, ATTACHR was forced to perform a lot of extra, unplanned work at significant cost due to the inadequacy of the company that cast the concrete foundations and did not include the openings for pipes and ventilation ducts. ATTACHR spent 909.4 million MNT on special drilling equipment just to create these holes, and incurred further expenses for equipment and materials, totaling millions more. All this was done under pressure from CSMGC to urgently finish the work, so ATTACHR raised loans and funded the completion themselves. With all these extra costs, withheld monies, and required guarantees, ATTACHR is owed 2.4 billion MNT, which CSMGC still refuses to pay despite ATTACHR’s repeated formal requests. In fact, CSMGC agreed to additional works at the request of the Ministry, promising ATTACHR that contracts and payments would be handled, but failed to keep these promises. WORK COMPLETED, YET MAIN CONTRACTOR REFUSES TO PAY Delays on the project were often caused by materials ordered from China arriving late or not delivered, leaving subcontractors to purchase materials themselves after reassurances that they would be paid. Item receipts and deliveries were formally recorded with engineers and accountants from the main contractor. The Mongolian subcontractors say they are working with care and due speed on this project, funded as generous Chinese aid for Mongolia, but CSMGC blatantly disregards Mongolian law and their obligations, causing harm to local companies. Multiple complaints have been submitted to the Ministry about this conduct. In response, both the project unit and the department for sector development within the Ministry have sent formal letters to CSMGC requiring them to urgently resolve the contractual issues and notify the Ministry of actions taken, but it remains unclear if any satisfactory response has been received. As of now, CSMGC has not paid for work which they have certified and accepted months ago, whether in December last year or since February this year. THREATS OF UNILATERAL ARBITRATION NOT INCLUDED IN CONTRACTS Due to the ongoing non-payment, CSMGC sent a contract termination notice to ATTACHR on February 20 of this year, accusing them of insufficient manpower, errors during heating and ventilation installations, and failure to provide required documentation or execute expected scope—even as CSMGC itself had confirmed and accepted the completed work. They also threatened to deduct 201,422 yuan for safety and health expenses. The letter claims that future disputes would be settled through negotiations or, if necessary, by the Beijing International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, even though such recourse was not specified in the original contract. ATTACHR stated that they fulfilled all requirements and that all accepted work, signed and stamped by the responsible parties from CSMGC, has been delivered, and do not understand why CSMGC is disputing already approved work. Thus, this dispute over non-payment by general contractor CSMGC, which is building the "Nogoon Nuur-1008 Family Apartments" with China’s 350 million yuan grant, continues to escalate. It remains to be seen whether the party with the purse strings will prevail, or if the Mongolian companies—having completed the work but left unpaid—will be left at a loss.

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Dornogovi: Renewable Energy Projects Supply an Average of 312.3 Million kWh of Electricity Per Year

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

In Sainshand, four renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 130 MW—solar and wind—are being implemented in Dornogovi province. In Zamyn-Uud, the "Gegeen" station with a capacity of 15 MW, funded by Japan's "Shigemitsu Shoji" and "Sharp Corporation," and Mongolia's "Erchim Teeg" company, and the "Erdene" solar power plant, which began operation last year (for a combined total of 30 MW), are supplying energy. In Sainshand soum, "Desert Solar Power One" LLC operates the "Gobi Solar Power Plant" with a capacity of 30 MW, while "Sainshand Wind Park" LLC runs a wind power plant with a capacity of 55 MW. These plants are currently generating electricity. For reference, these renewable energy projects supply an average of 312.3 million kWh of electricity annually to the central power system. They help prevent the emission of 1,292,385 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, save 6,463,031 tons of fresh water, and reduce coal consumption by 732,636 tons. At a time when countries around the world are moving away from producing energy from fossil fuels, Mongolia has set the goal, in its long-term policy document "Vision-2050," to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22.7% by the year 2030 compared to current levels.

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Regular Flights from Tuva to Mongolia to Begin

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

KRASNOYARSK — Regular flights are planned to launch from the international airport in Kyzyl, the capital of the Republic of Tuva in Russia, to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, starting on June 18, according to a statement from Vladislav Khovalyg, the head of Tuva, posted on his Telegram channel. "Flights between Kyzyl and Ulaanbaatar will run until August 31 in the initial phase. The timetable has been arranged so that passengers traveling from Tuva can also book connecting flights from Ulaanbaatar to destinations such as Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, and Hong Kong," he wrote. According to preliminary estimates, the price of a one-way ticket will be around 20,000 rubles. Khovalyg said that all necessary infrastructure has been prepared at the airport, including upgrades to runways and the establishment of a special terminal for customs and border control operations. In March last year, an international border control checkpoint was opened at Kyzyl Airport with a capacity to process 100 people per hour. The checkpoint rooms have been fully equipped and made ready for operation. Five passport control booths have been installed in the international terminal building. The airport modernization work was financed from the federal state budget, with a total cost amounting to half a billion rubles. The first flight on the Kyzyl–Ulaanbaatar route was carried out in September 2024 using the aircraft of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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B.Orgil: Expanding the Steel Production Project on the Basis of Darkhan Metallurgical Plant is Effective

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

We interviewed B. Orgil, Director of Strategy and Business Development at Darkhan Metallurgical Plant LLC, about pressing current issues. - Mongolia announced 14 mega projects and has been working to implement them for some time. One of these 14 projects concerns steel production. As the oldest plant, your company's objectives, strategies, and actions on this project should be clear by now. Can we start the interview discussing these aspects? - The steel complex production project is ranked ninth among the 14 mega projects announced by the government. Therefore, it is important to highlight why the steel complex project is considered a leading one. Research and past global developments show that steel production is the main pillar of a country's economy. While resources such as gold and copper are undoubtedly important, the construction sector—reliant on steel—remains the core of any country's development. In Mongolia, the steel industry began its development plans in the 1980s. In 1993, the country commissioned its first ferrous metallurgy plant. Looking back, that means our sector has now developed for about 30 years. Unfortunately, the focus on mineral exports to support the budget and economic challenges meant that little attention was given to developing key raw materials for domestic industry. Now, times have changed—steel is recognized as an essential raw material for construction and development, and it has been made a priority in the 14 mega projects. This is a huge support and opportunity for experts and workers in our industry. Thus, at Darkhan Metallurgical Plant, we have conducted broad studies on how to upgrade our production and how to efficiently and rapidly fulfill the government's objectives. We focused mainly on the steel-producing countries of Asia for our research. - What are the conditions and prospects? As you said, steel production is the basis of a country's development, and until recently, our sector was neglected. It is crucial to develop the sector promptly and without politicization. Is your team considering this aspect? - Exactly. There are sectors that can be politicized and those that cannot. Steel production should be kept far from politics and considered a highly essential, strategic industry. If it becomes politicized, or if action is taken based on enthusiasm and high expectations alone, it is prone to risk—a pattern we've seen before. For example, the Sainshand Industrial Park was highly anticipated, but we all know what its outcome was. We have no right to repeat such mistakes. Developed Asian countries have recognized steel as the foundation of national development. They do not even export it—using it primarily for internal needs rather than for external profit. South Korea's "POSCO" has emphasized this point. Large-scale industries grow from steel production, and many key sectors develop alongside it due to the essential use of steel products. As mentioned before, our country commissioned a steel smelting plant using scrap metal in 1993. However, due to market turmoil and other factors, the industry failed to fully develop. As a result, we are completely dependent on imports, with Mongolia importing 700-800 thousand tons of steel products annually while only producing 50-70 thousand tons domestically. The remaining benefit is lost abroad. The leading countries in global steel production are Japan, South Korea, India, and China — four of the world's top ten steel-producing countries. Their rapid technological and human resource developments are built on their steel sectors. In our study, we noticed how crucial it is for Mongolia to choose technologies suited to our market size and climate. For technology and automation, Japan's experience is valuable, while China's similar climate and territory allow us to learn about proper technology adaptation and workforce training. India, for example, primarily supplies its domestic needs through steel production, shaping both its economy and planning structure. Mongolia has sufficient ore reserves. Even if we extract 4 million tons annually, there is a supply for at least 130-150 years. - So it seems the suitable option for us is now fairly clear. What is the current capacity and resources of the Darkhan Metallurgical Plant? - Darkhan Metallurgical Plant has a steel smelting capacity of 100,000 tons and three ore deposits—two in operation and preparations underway for the third. In total, we have 285 million tons of ore in reserve, with a potential for an additional 250 million tons. Thus, Mongolia has plenty of resources, enough for at least 130-150 years at an extraction rate of four million tons a year. Mongolia has all the raw materials needed for steel production: iron ore and coking coal. The government's inclusion of steel production among the 14 mega projects and its intensified efforts in this sector are commendable. If the state policy continues energetically, we could produce 500,000 tons of steel products domestically by 2028-2030. - The government has committed to preparing one million tons of steel raw material annually. What do you see as the most feasible option to achieve this? - To achieve one million tons of steel production, we are preparing our current 100,000 ton plant for testing and training our workforce and technology. This goal needs to be approached in stages. Steel production isn't new to us. Unlike something like an oil refinery, we have 30 years of experience and an existing plant. Back in 1993, the goal for Darkhan Metallurgical Plant was not just processing scrap metal but also smelting ore, with plans laid for a second phase using English, German, and Italian technology. The foundation for today's project was established 30 years ago — we must continue from there. Expansion should build upon the current plant and increase capacity incrementally. This is the rational path, as other countries have also expanded upon existing facilities gradually, ensuring optimal planning. For this, project implementers, the government, and other involved organizations should listen to professional organizations and experts. The project should expand upon today's plant and infrastructure. - So the steel complex should be expanded on the basis of Darkhan Metallurgical Plant? - The ferrous metallurgy industry has developed since 1993—a significant time for Mongolia. We failed to develop consistently and prioritize it at the policy level, which was wrong. Now, however, listing steel production among the 14 mega projects is a major and timely step. All 14 of these mega projects require steel products. If required steel products are imported for these projects, it will incur huge costs. Supplying these from domestic, value-added production is beneficial for the economy and technological progress. Therefore, it is critical to view, plan, and act on the steel production project in a realistic and expert-driven manner. As with nuclear policy, where experts provided guidance, the metallurgy sector should also rely on expert voices, which both the public and government should heed. Last February, the government decided to intensify the steel complex project. A working group led by parliament member and cabinet secretary N. Uchral was formed to organize measures and provide major governmental support, speeding up industry progress. - If the steel complex comes into operation, workforce issues will arise. How prepared is your workforce, and what challenges are you facing? - Darkhan Metallurgical Plant employs about 1,550 people. We run mines and produce construction rebar and steel billets from scrap. We are focusing on developing and upskilling our staff. In cooperation with the Ministry of Education’s Student Loan Fund, we support training our personnel at domestic and international universities and through professional programs. Since this sector was neglected for some time, workforce issues have arisen. Only the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST), particularly its Darkhan-Uul branch, trains metallurgical specialists. There were past periods of no intake. The plant has a policy to avoid breaks in personnel training and supports tuition for workers. Moreover, by appealing to Minister of Education P. Naranbayar, the government included ferrous metallurgy on the priority professions list. To increase personnel and attract new students, together with the Student Loan Fund and Darkhan-Uul Education Department, we plan to organize an open day in Darkhan-Uul province on May 9, 2025. This aims to inform graduating students, offer information on scholarships, and promote participation in leading national industries like steel production. We are also coordinating with major factories in Japan, China, and India to send young professionals for staged internships and specialization. Soon, our youth will begin internships in the world's largest factories. Warning: Media organizations (TV, radio, social media, and websites) are prohibited from using our information wholly or partly in any form without permission. Usage requires citation of the original source (ikon.mn) upon agreement.

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Shadivlan Resort Access Road Closed for Renovation

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

The road from the Shadivlan resort area, located in the 24th subdistrict of Chingeltei district and the 15th and 17th subdistricts of Sukhbaatar district, to Dambadarjaa is currently being renovated. As part of this project, the 2.7 km stretch of road from the Shadivlan resort area to the Petroviss gas station was closed at 1:00 AM on the 7th of this month and is being resurfaced with asphalt concrete. The road is scheduled to reopen on the 15th of this month. During this period, the Ulaanbaatar City Road Development Department has advised residents and drivers to use alternative routes.

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"If Additional Funding is Resolved, the School Being Built with the City Budget in Marshal Town, River Garden Will Be Commissioned This Year"

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

In the 17th khoroo of Khan-Uul district, near the "Marshal Town" and "River Garden" residential complexes, there is a need for additional funding to build a school with 960 student seats, which is being constructed with the capital city's budget. Regarding this, City Council representative L. Khosbayar said, "Last year, after reaching an agreement with the businesses in the area and acquiring the land near the "Marshal Town" and "River Garden" complexes, construction of a 960-seat school began. The construction started with the 2021 fiscal budget. However, as labor expenses have increased, today the total cost of the project has reached about 24 billion MNT. If the Governor of the city resolves the additional expenses, the contractor company says the school can be completed in a short time. If savings can be made from the revised budget and other investment expenses, there is an opportunity to resolve the funding and put the school building into use this year," he said. The company "Gurvanbulag Sod" LLC won the tender to carry out the construction work and has started building. Notice: Media organizations (television, radio, social and web platforms) are prohibited from using our information, in part or in whole, in any form, and may only do so by agreement, with the source (ikon.mn) cited.

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Schedule for Power Outages on May 9

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

According to information from UBCTS LLC, tomorrow, May 9, power will be restricted and maintenance will be carried out for some households and businesses in the Bayanzurkh, Songinokhairkhan, Sukhbaatar, Nalaikh, and Bagakhangai districts of the capital city. The power outage schedule will last depending on the area, from 09:00 to 17:30. No maintenance work will be conducted on the two weekend days. The locations where power will be restricted on May 9, 2025: You can see the detailed schedule for line and equipment maintenance by clicking HERE. Note: Media organizations (TV, Radio, Social and Web pages) are prohibited from entirely or partially using our information in any form, and may only use it with consent and by citing the source (ikon.mn).

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63% Completion for Road Connecting Tolgoit Road to Ard Ayush Avenue

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: unuudur.mn

The construction of the 3.9 km auto road and bridge connecting Tolgoit Road to Ard Ayush Avenue is currently 63% complete. As of today, the base pavement of a total of 2.4 km of the road has been finished, and traffic on the road is expected to open by September. When on site, 85 engineers and technical staff were working with 45 pieces of machinery. Specifically, the road paving was being carried out with 2 pavers and 5 rollers, and 25 dump trucks were transporting asphalt. The construction is being undertaken by a partnership between "Mongol Zam Group" LLC and "Gan Burd" LLC. Speaking about the roadwork, B. Jargalduuren, Bridge Inspector at the City Road Development Authority, stated: "The project to connect Tolgoit Road to Ard Ayush Avenue is 63% complete. The 2.4 km southbound section of the six-lane road has been paved. The 2.1 km northbound section has also been paved. There remains about 300 meters of paving up to the 'Sodon' residential area junction. To complete this, we are cooperating with the Traffic Police to manage traffic at the location where paving will take place from the Sodon junction." The traffic on the new road will be organized so that flows from Ard Ayush Avenue can merge directly without conflicting crossings. Although road opening is scheduled for September, some difficulties have arisen on site due to land clearance and utility line works. "However, we are coordinating with relevant contractors to hand over the roadwork on time," he added. Once the road and bridge connecting Tolgoit Road to Ard Ayush Avenue is put into use, it will help reduce the traffic load on the western part of Peace Avenue by 30–50%.

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Society

219 Citizens from 13 Countries Denied Entry at the Border and Sent Back

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

According to the Immigration Agency, last April, scheduled and unscheduled inspections were conducted 2 and 24 times respectively, covering 304 businesses and organizations, and 3,891 foreign citizens. In total, 1,319 foreign citizens and 308 inviting citizens or organizations involved in violations were subject to legal action under the Law on Violations. Additionally, 63 citizens from 8 countries were forcibly deported. Furthermore, 219 citizens from 13 countries were denied entry and sent back at the border for reasons such as being unable to specify their travel purpose, having a visa category not matching their stated purpose, lacking proof of sufficient funds for their stay or return, or having an expired visa. The most common violations among foreign citizens include breaching regulations on obtaining, using, or storing residence permits; working without appropriate authorization; engaging in activities other than those specified in their entry purpose; and overstaying their visa. Source: Immigration Agency Warning: Media organizations (TV, radio, social networks, and websites) are prohibited from using our information in whole or in part in any form unless agreed upon, and must cite the source (ikon.mn) in case of usage.

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219 citizens from 13 countries denied border entry and sent back

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

The Immigration, Citizenship and Foreigners Agency conducted two planned and 24 unplanned inspections in April, involving 304 businesses and organizations and 3,891 foreign citizens. As a result of violations found, measures were taken against a total of 1,319 foreign citizens and 308 host citizens, enterprises, and organizations in accordance with the Law on Offences. In addition, 63 citizens from 8 countries were deported. Furthermore, 219 citizens from 13 countries were denied entry and sent back at the border because they could not state a clear purpose for their visit, possessed visas that did not match the purpose of their visit, lacked proof of funds for their stay or return, or had expired visas. In the first quarter of this year, the total number of border crossings, counted with repeat entries, reached 1.6 million. According to data from the National Statistics Office, this is an increase of 290,000 compared to the same period last year. Of those crossing the border, 699,000 were Mongolian citizens and 125,000 were foreign citizens. In the first quarter, 825,000 people entered the country, while the total outgoing border crossings reached 688,000. Specifically, 88,000 people traveled to China, 3,400 to Russia, 7,000 to Vietnam, and the number of people traveling to South Korea increased by 5,800. Compared to the same period last year, the number of travelers to Vietnam surpassed 20,000, a 64% increase from a year ago. Of those traveling abroad, 20,000 did so for official business and 667,000 for personal reasons. Among the travelers, 143,000 went for work, 110,000 for tourism, and 384,000 for other purposes.

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Road Closures During the Bicycle Parade on Saturday

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

The "Cycling Ulaanbaatar-2025" public event and the "Bayanzurkh Marathon-2025" are scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 10th. During this event, there will be competitions for professional and amateur cyclists, presentations from cycling clubs, sales by bicycle and accessory shops, repair services, banks' green loan presentations, and a free market for cycling enthusiasts, all at the Central Square. As part of the event, a bicycle parade will be held from 06:00 to 13:00, during which certain roads will be partially closed. These include: In Sukhbaatar District: - From in front of the Cultural Center eastward from the Central Tower intersection to the Central Post Office intersection. In Chingeltei District: - From the Central Post Office intersection to the Tsetseg Center intersection, and from the Tsetseg Center intersection turning northward to the Zos Goyol intersection. In Chingeltei and Bayanzurkh Districts: - From the Zos Goyol intersection eastward along the north side of the Government House to the Sansar "E-Mart" intersection. In Bayanzurkh District: - From the Sansar "E-Mart" intersection south to the Mongolian Wrestling Palace intersection. In Bayanzurkh and Sukhbaatar Districts: - From the Mongolian Wrestling Palace intersection west to the Central Tower intersection, and along the east side of D. Sukhbaatar Square to the front of the Cultural Center for the finish. Additionally, during the event, a 20 km road race will be held from 06:00 to 18:00. The routes affected include: Bayanzurkh and Sukhbaatar Districts: - Along University Street: starting in front of the Cultural Center on the east side of D. Sukhbaatar Square, past the "Gallery Ulaanbaatar" intersection and to the intersection by the main building of the National University of Mongolia; In Sukhbaatar District: - Along J. Sambuu Street: from the main building of the National University of Mongolia eastward to the Chinggis Khaan Museum intersection; - Along Sukhbaatar Street: from the eastern intersection of the Chinggis Khaan Museum north to the Metromall department store intersection; - Along Baga Toiruu: from the Metromall department store intersection eastward, turning west to the Novotel Hotel intersection; - Along University Street and towards D. Sukhbaatar Square: from the Novotel Hotel intersection westward, turning south, passing the intersections by the main building of the National University of Mongolia and the west side of "Gallery Ulaanbaatar" store, to the east side of D. Sukhbaatar Square and finishing in front of the Cultural Center. Meanwhile, the "Bayanzurkh Marathon-2025" run will take place from 07:00 to 14:00. Specifically, the race will start in front of the "Dunjingarav" shopping center and run eastward along the road by the "Shine Zuun Ail" shopping center, crossing the railway and continuing to Gachuurt Road. Notice: Media organizations (TV, Radio, Social and Web pages) are prohibited from using our information in any form, either fully or in part, unless agreed upon and with proper citation of the source (ikon.mn).

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Former President Ts. Elbegdorj to Give a Lecture and Interview in Japan

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

Former President Ts. Elbegdorj has announced that he will be giving a lecture in Japan on the 17th of this month. On his social media page, he wrote, "I will give a lecture in Japan. I will meet wonderful people. I will give an interview to the press. I will visit Nagasaki and Hiroshima. News about this has already started to come out. The Japanese people are amazing — they have been the ones to help Mongolians the most in difficult times and have given us blessings. I am always grateful," he wrote.

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Central Province: Disaster Protection Command Staff Exercise Begins

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

The Disaster Protection Command Staff Exercise has started today with a classroom session for management personnel. Over 100 participants are involved in the training, including heads of all educational institutions in the province and the staff of the Emergency Management Agency. This exercise is being organized by the General Agency for Emergency Management from May 7-9, according to the outcome-based agreement between the Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia and the Governor of Tuv Province. Deputy Director Colonel Ts. Uranchimeg of the General Agency for Emergency Management stated in his speech, “The government’s action program for 2024-2028 aims to create a national system responsible for supporting national resilience. Accordingly, we are planning and implementing reforms to increase adaptive capacity and risk management. One component of national resilience is disaster resilience. Through effective risk prevention, disaster protection planning, readiness, and coordination among emergency response units, we can fully overcome disaster risks with minimal damage — that is why this command staff training exercise is being organized.” Today, the working group provided the leadership team of the province with information on risk reduction duties, disaster management and organization during emergencies, and the local disaster protection planning. They also covered topics such as inter-agency cooperation, communication organization at disaster sites, public relations during emergencies and disasters, hazards such as dzud, floods, strong winds, storms, fire incidents, response measures, the structure and organization of the staff, and operational procedures. This command staff exercise will continue on May 8 with exercises based on real-time scenarios. Over the past ten years, Tuv Province has experienced 1,119 disasters, hazardous events, and accidents, resulting in 165 human deaths, the loss of 710,300 livestock and animals, and direct damages totaling 12 billion MNT. Among these, building fires account for the highest rate at 50%, human activity-related incidents at 24%, biological outbreaks at 11%, forest and steppe fires at 9%, meteorological disasters at 5.1%, and geological disasters at 0.9%.

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A Lobby Group to Support Child Development and Protection to be Established

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

The Human Development Committee and the Women's Council of the Ulaanbaatar City Citizens' Representatives' Assembly jointly met with representatives from organizations working for children—such as the Mongolian Children's Palace, the Children's Art Creation Center, the D. Natsagdorj Public Library, as well as organizations involved in child protection. During the meeting, the leaders and staff of these organizations openly discussed the activities they are conducting to ensure children's rights to education, development, and living, as well as pressing issues that need to be addressed in the future. For instance, the Mongolian Children's Palace, which was established in 1984, serves over 4,000 children per year, focusing on their development and support. They also emphasized their plan to build a Children's Sports Palace alongside their current facilities.

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The National Human Rights Commission Calls for Legal Regulations to Diagnose and Monitor Individuals with Pedophilic Disorders

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia (NHRC) has developed its 24th report on the status of human rights and freedoms in Mongolia and has submitted it to the State Great Khural (Parliament) for discussion. In addition to the report, NHRC has also presented 45 proposals seeking decisions from Parliament, which have been assigned to relevant standing committees. Each committee reviews the proposals and forwards the recommendations made by its members to the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs. In relation to the fifth chapter of the 24th report on the status of human rights and freedoms in Mongolia, which has been assigned to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, NHRC has introduced its proposals. This chapter addresses the rights of child victims of sexual violence during criminal proceedings. According to the report, police statistics show that, over the last five years, 2,207 children (248 in 2020, 362 in 2021, 458 in 2022, 541 in 2023, and 598 in 2024) have been affected by crimes specified in Chapter 12 of the Criminal Code (Crimes Against Sexual Freedom and Inviolability of Persons). Over the same period, there have been 1,601 recorded offenses of rape or sexual exploitation of minors, with 1,630 child victims, comprising 110 children aged 0-7, 685 children aged 8-13, and 835 children aged 14-17. In connection with the report, NHRC has made the following proposals concerning child victims of sexual violence and the protection of their rights: - To create detailed statistics on crimes against the sexual freedom and inviolability of minors; to conduct criminological research involving representatives from all relevant institutions engaged in criminal justice processes, and based on these studies, to update and improve preventative and countermeasures to combat sexual crimes. - To establish a procedure for psychological assessment of perpetrators with pedophilic disorders (attraction to minors), as well as legal regulations for diagnosing, treating, and monitoring such individuals. - To specifically regulate the Criminal Procedure Law to protect the rights of child victims of sexual violence and to prevent their retraumatization through special procedures. - To stipulate that interviews with minor or underage victims are conducted only by professional, trained psychologists or social workers in a single, high-quality, and prompt session, documented through audio and video recordings, to be used as legal evidence. - To ensure that information about the crime from children is collected in child-friendly and accessible environments beyond the police stations. - To restore the legal provision in the Criminal Procedure Law requiring child victims to be represented by a defense lawyer during proceedings. - To require that the damages suffered by child victims of sexual violence are determined and established, with the recovery and psychological counseling costs to be decided as part of the criminal case, and that the government initially provides compensation, which is later reimbursed by the perpetrator. - To enhance the involvement of multidisciplinary teams, legal committees on children's rights, state inspectors for children's rights, and agencies for child and family development and protection during the criminal justice process. - To ensure that only qualified and specially trained legal representatives, lawyers, experts, investigators, prosecutors, and judges handle criminal cases involving crimes against the sexual freedom and inviolability of minors. Notice: Media organizations (TV, radio, social and web platforms) are prohibited from using our information in whole or in part in any form and may only use it with explicit agreement and attribution to the source (ikon.mn).

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Environment

The Best Solution to Air Pollution: INSULATION

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: ikon.mn

Summer is just around the corner. Soon the days of summer will be here and we will almost forget that we ever live in smog-filled Ulaanbaatar. But in three months, reality will return and we’ll be talking about the same old problem again. So, let’s consider how we can reduce and even eliminate this pollution. The first step is to count and measure the sources of smoke. Since 2019, the Capital City’s Air and Environmental Pollution Office has been counting and recording every stove in the ger districts and the amount of improved compressed fuel used. On average, households in Ulaanbaatar's ger districts burn 560,000 tons of improved compressed fuel annually in 87,000 houses and 73,300 felt gers. This shows that if every household with a stove can reduce their burning, the smoke will also decrease, and eventually, air pollution could be eliminated. So, is it really possible for households in the ger districts not to use stoves? Let's think about why we burn fuel at all. Obviously, to stay warm and comfortable during the cold winter. The main solution is that if we can insulate the 87,000 houses and 73,300 felt gers in these districts, we can cut fuel use by 30%—that's 174,000 tons less fuel burned annually. When compressed fuel is burned, it releases large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂). On average, burning one ton of compressed fuel emits about 2.6 tons of CO₂. Saving 174,000 tons of fuel means preventing about 452,400 tons of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere. This is concrete proof that such measures can indeed reduce air pollution. To absorb this much carbon dioxide, you would need about 7.5 million 10-year-old trees. In other words, insulating your house is as positive for the environment as planting about 7.5 million trees every year! As a result, emissions and greenhouse gases decrease and Mongolia’s negative impact on global warming is reduced. Furthermore, reducing fuel consumption by 30% also saves hundreds of thousands of tons of water used in compressed fuel production and helps conserve water resources, which is a crucial step against desertification. Producing one ton of compressed fuel requires 1-2 tons of water. Reducing fuel use by 174,000 tons saves 174,000–348,000 tons of water—equivalent to the yearly water usage of 7,000–10,000 households or the amount of water in 400 Olympic-size pools. The average cost of insulating the roof of one house is about 3-5 million MNT, so for 87,000 houses this would require an investment of 261–435 billion MNT. For a felt ger, insulation costs about 4.2 million MNT; for 73,300 gers, that totals 308 billion MNT. Therefore, insulating the roofs of all homes and felt gers requires an investment of 569–743 billion MNT. If this is done over four years, that’s at most 186 billion MNT per year. However, not everyone has the money to insulate their home readily available. But just as we take out loans for mobile phones or appliances, this investment can also be financed with loans. Banks such as Khaan, Xac, Bogd, Capitron, State Bank, and non-bank financial institutions like Transcapital, Vision Fund, and GSB Capital provide green loans for home insulation to help families invest in a healthier and more comfortable life. Insulating your home is not just about keeping your family warm; it is the simplest and most powerful way to protect our air, water, soil, plants, and animals. Between 2018 and 2022, the “Warm Solution 1” project insulated 1,546 households, saving the consumption of 2,411 tons of fuel and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 3,556 tons. You yourself could be the one to make the next real change. Insulate your home and keep the future warm. Warning
Media organizations (Television, Radio, Social and Web pages) are strictly prohibited from using our information in any form, fully or partially, unless expressly agreed upon; use is only permitted with citation of the source (ikon.mn).

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SELENGA: Spring Planting Begins in the Province

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

Sukhbaatar. As of today, 1,848 hectares have been sown with wheat, 130 hectares with forage crops, 2,610 hectares with oil crops, 108 hectares with potatoes, and 21 hectares with vegetables in the province. Selenge aimag has a total arable rotation area of 311,900 hectares for grain, potatoes, and vegetables. This spring, it is planned to plant grain crops on 40,900 hectares. Specifically, wheat will be planted on 128,900 hectares, other grain crops on 12,000 hectares, forage crops on 30,500 hectares, oil crops on 45,000 hectares, potatoes on 3,100 hectares, and vegetables on 8,200 hectares. For the 2025 planting season, enterprises and individuals in the province have stockpiled 17,500 tons of wheat seed, which covers 84 percent of the total seed requirement. Selenge aimag is implementing the "Atar IV" campaign, the "Food Supply and Safety" program, and the "New Countryside Project" to increase the total arable land area by 9,550 hectares and irrigated farmland by 100 hectares. Additionally, 7,425 hectares of farmland will be fenced, and the capacity of mechanized storage facilities for potatoes and vegetables will be increased by 2,000 tons.

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Innovation

The Second Phase of the 1000 Engineers Project Has Started

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

Within the framework of the Mongolia-Japan mid-term strategic partnership program, the "Engineering and Technology Higher Education" project was implemented starting from 2014 with concessional loans from the Yen. Now, the second phase of this project has commenced. Eleven years ago, when L. Gantomor, Mongolia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Development, was serving as Minister of Education and Science, he initiated the Engineering and Technology Higher Education Project—also known as the 1000 Engineers Project. He expressed his happiness that the project he started is now successfully being implemented, with many skilled scientists, researchers, and engineers being trained and contributing to the scientific development of the country. Today, he became acquainted with the research work being conducted as part of the second phase of the project. In addition, discussions were held with officials about preparing human resources in connection with the mega projects implemented by the government, strengthening cooperation between the government, universities, and industries, and further improving the effectiveness of the project.

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Calculating Examination Results Using Artificial Intelligence in the Medical Sector

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

The 9th annual "Academic Conference-2025" was held at the State Special Servants' Unified Hospital. At the conference, 65 researchers working at this hospital presented their academic works, contributing to the development of evidence-based medicine. The event aimed to create a science-based, evidence-oriented, patient-friendly nursing service, improve research methodology, theory, practice, and knowledge, and provide an opportunity for self-assessment of their activities. Since November 2024, the State Special Servants' Unified Hospital has been implementing the "The Most Important" program under the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs. This program aims to detect diseases early and determine the risk factors for both infectious and non-infectious diseases among employees of affiliated organizations. As part of this, preventive examinations have been conducted for employees from Khangai, Northern, Central, and Western regions. The results were calculated using artificial intelligence, categorizing the risk of non-communicable diseases based on occupational characteristics, years of service, and regional disease patterns, and projecting disease incidence for the next 10 years. Of the employees examined, 57.6% had internal diseases, 22.9% had surgical diseases, and 11% had neurological disorders. Major illnesses included liver steatosis, chronic pancreatitis, arterial hypertension, lower back pain, headaches and neck pain, hemorrhoids, prostatic calcification, gallstones, and nasal septum deviation. When classified by age group, those aged 25-30 commonly suffered from tension headaches; the 31-35 group from cardiac arrhythmias; the 36-40 group from high blood pressure; and those aged over 46 mainly from chronic pancreatitis and high blood pressure, according to specialists. N. Odongua, the hospital director, stated, "We conduct research among patients who have received our services, which supports the improvement of each department's operations. Our hospital provides trauma treatment nationwide regardless of jurisdiction. A single nurse provides 15-21 types of nursing services daily to patients, quadrupling the workload. Research shows there is a need to increase the number of nurses in the trauma department to reduce this load. Also, during preventive examinations of law enforcement employees and their families, digestive tract disorders are very common, indicating that healthy eating conditions are lacking at work. The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases among young people aged 18-35 is linked to work-related stress and unhealthy habits. Additionally, 67.8% of nurses are overweight or obese." Interestingly, there are 27 million nurses worldwide, making up about 59% of healthcare professionals. However, by 2030, there will be a need for an additional nine million nurses and midwives globally, according to the WHO.

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Network to Be Introduced at 13 Remote Locations in the Gobi Region

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Communications will introduce a fiber optic network to 13 remote locations in the Gobi region this year. Of the 12 soums (districts) and 54 bags (subdistricts) in Dornogovi province, 7 still lack network coverage, while in Dundgovi, 35 out of its 15 soums and 66 bags are not yet connected. In contrast, all bags in Govisumber and Umnugovi provinces have been connected to the network. Nationwide, it is planned to introduce network access to a total of 55 bags this year, with the goal of making telecommunications services accessible to remote areas. Mongolia, with its vast territory divided into 21 provinces and 335 soums, has now linked all soums to the fiber optic network.

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A Working Group Established to Study Satellites

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: montsame.mn

At today's meeting of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Innovation and Digital Policy, the draft resolution of the committee to establish a working group to study and prepare a related decision on the possibility of effectively using a satellite in Mongolia that meets diverse needs and requirements within the scope of the National Satellite Deployment Project was discussed. Member of Parliament Ch. Anar provided further details about the necessity and need for establishing this working group. He said that due to changes in the international situation and the need to ensure national security, it is imperative to implement a national satellite project. Furthermore, this work is planned within the framework of 14 mega projects to be implemented jointly by the government. In response to criticism from the Parliament regarding the high costs and insufficient technical and economic rationale, the government is working on it. Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Innovation and Digital Policy has expressed the need to establish a working group to jointly conduct technical evaluations and situational analyses and to be prepared to engage in negotiations. The majority of members attending the meeting supported and approved the draft resolution to establish this working group. According to the Parliament's press office, Member of Parliament Ch. Anar will head the working group, and Parliamentarians J. Zoljargal, E. Batshugar, B. Punsalmaa, J. Bayarmaa, and D. Purevdavaa will serve as members.

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Network to be Introduced at 13 Points in the Gobi Region

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

It has been decided to introduce network coverage at 13 points in the Gobi region. Specifically, all 10 baghs (small administrative units) of Govisumber Province are now connected to the network, while 7 baghs in Dornogovi Province are still without connection, and 35 baghs in Dundgovi Province are also not yet connected. Meanwhile, 56 baghs in Umnugovi Province are already connected to the network. For this reason, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Communications is working to introduce network coverage to 13 remote points of the Gobi region in 2025. For your information, the expanded first meeting of the Gobi Regional Council will take place on May 12 in Dornogovi Province.

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Health

The Cancer Hospital Will Be Queue-Free by December

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: news.mn

There is unfortunately a statistic that shows the number of outpatient visits at the National Cancer Center (NCC) is increasing every year. However, patients suffering from cancer say that even though the country's only hospital provides services to thousands of people, medical equipment is not sufficiently available. They also criticize the long waiting lines. Today, the Minister of Health announced that by December 1st, the hospital will be made queue-free.

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Selection of Organization to Provide Psychological Counseling Services

Published: 2025-05-08 | Translated from: isee.mn

SELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT
No. RFP25-1465 We are announcing a selection process to choose an organization to provide psychological counseling services for Khaan Bank employees. We invite experienced organizations and companies engaged in this field to participate in the selection process. Services to Be Provided:
- Individual counseling
- Group counseling
- Group discussions, meetings (events)
- Package services tailored for organizations Organizations wishing to participate in the selection must deposit a non-refundable fee of 10,000 MNT into Khaan Bank account number 5000000015, and send the payment receipt along with an official letter to [email protected] to receive the selection documents. The transaction details must include the RFP25-1465 number, the organization's name, and registration number. Materials will be accepted until 18:00 on May 14, 2025 via [email protected], and only the selected organizations will be notified of the results. Note: For information related to the selection process, please contact [email protected] Address: Khaan Bank Tower, Chingis Avenue, Stadium Orgil-1, KHUD-15, P.O. Box-192, Ulaanbaatar-17010

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