ACTIVITY REPORT OF PRESIDENT KHALTMAAGIIN BATTULGA IN 2017-2018
On January 31st, Chief of Staff to the President Z.Enkhbold briefed the Parliament on the activity report of President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga in the course of one year since his inauguration.
The report read:
“In accordance with Section 1 of Article 35 of the Constitution of Mongolia and Section 1 of Article 7 of the Law on the President of Mongolia, a report on the activities and performance of President Khaltmaagiin Battulga in the time period between July 10th, 2017, to July 10th, 2018, is being presented to the Parliament.
The Parliament members must be familiar with the detailed annual activity report of the President that was delivered to the Secretariat of the Parliament. The report incorporates activities divided in two sections, first, within the powers of the President of Mongolia, and second, within the policy and objectives outlined in the agenda of the President.
The President of Mongolia exercised his power in the framework of following matters:
One. Within the President’s powers on state structure and administration
1.1 Within his power to work in coordination with the Parliament, the President attended the plenary session of the Parliament on eight occasions, put a veto on laws and resolutions adopted by the Parliament on four occasions, initiated and submitted three bills and draft resolutions, and consulted with the Parliament regarding the appointments of six officials.
1.2. Within his power to work in coordination with the Cabinet, the President consulted with the Prime Minister on two occasions regarding the latter’s proposals to reform the composition of the Cabinet and expressed his stance through specific proposals on instructions and other matters that were introduced at Cabinet meetings.
1.3. Within his power to work in coordination with the judicial authority, the President issued decrees and appointed a judge in a court of first instance, relieved 11 judges from their duties due to retirement, letter of resignation, and passing away, and transferred eight judges to different posts on their request.
1.4. The President sent 38 missives addressing the participants of national-level events, in which he congratulated and requested them to work towards resolving pending issues, while wishing them success.
Two. Within the President’s powers to ensure national security and defend the nation
2.1. As the Head of the National Security Council, the President called a Council meeting on six occasions, as a result of which 15 matters were resolved, 21 recommendations and 13 records were formulated, and recommendations, instructions, and directions were forwarded to the Parliament, the Cabinet, and designated institutions and officials that are in charge of ensuring national security.
2.2. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Mongolian Armed Forces, the President was au fait with the operations and monthly activity reports of the Ministry of Defense and state military and law enforcement institutions and issued necessary instructions. By decree No. 1 of the President of Mongolia, issued on January 1st, 2018, the Procedure on Engagement of the Armed Forces Personnel and Military Instruments in Infrastructure Development Works was adopted and the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces were assigned to ensure compliance with and implementation of the procedure.
Three. Within the President’s powers on foreign relations
3.1. Within the power vested in him by the Constitution of Mongolia and the Law on the President of Mongolia, the President represented Mongolia with full power in foreign relations and worked towards active engagement in foreign policy and in the international arena.
3.1.1 The President attended the 3rd Eastern Economic Forum, which was held on September 4th-7th under the auspices of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, by invitation and paid a working visit to the Russian Federation.
3.1.2 The President attended the 18th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was held on June 8th-10th in Qingdao, the People’s Republic of China, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
3.1.3 The President held over 100 meetings with heads of foreign diplomatic missions and resident representatives in Mongolia, as well as foreign delegates who visited and worked in the country.
3.1.4. The President initiated a collaboration with the United States on renewing cooperation on duty-free export of Mongolian-made textile products to the United States and receiving assistance in returning money and assets that were illegally moved offshore to Mongolia.
3.2. Within his power to appoint and recall heads of plenipotentiary missions of Mongolia to foreign countries in consultation with the Parliament, the President recalled two ambassadors and appointed four ambassadors after consultation with the Parliament.
3.3. Within his power, the President received 26 Letters of Credence and Recall of Heads of diplomatic missions of foreign states to Mongolia.
Four. Regarding other matters within the President’s powers
4.1. The President exercised his power to confer and revoke state titles, higher military ranks, orders, and medals vested in him by the Constitution of Mongolia and the Law on the President of Mongolia.
4.2. The President received 62 letters requesting pardon, and after scrutiny, 21 letters were rejected for non-compliance, and the remaining 41 letters are under investigation.
4.3. By the President’ decree on withdrawing Mongolian citizenship, 543 applications on withdrawal of citizenship were resolved, and by the President’s decree on granting citizenship, 3 applications were resolved. Other applications are under investigation.
4.4. In accordance with Section 1 of Article 21 of the Law on the Mongolian Language, the National Council on Language Policy under the President operates with the purpose of safeguarding and developing the Mongolian language.
To ensure compliance with the requirements of the Law on the Mongolian Language, the National Council on Language Policy was reformed. The National Council on Language Policy approved a Regulatory Dictionary of the Spelling Rules in the Mongolian Language which must be abided by nationally. The dictionary was distributed to all schools and government institutions and an e-version was publicized.
4.5. The President delivered speeches and addresses on 93 occasions during meetings with the citizens, conferences, discussions, and ceremonies from July 10th, 2017, to July 10th, 2018.
4.6. Within his power stated in Section 2 of Article 27 of the Law of Mongolia on Anti-Corruption, the President assigned the 15 members of the Public Council under the Independent Authority Against Corruption for four-year terms.
The President worked towards implementing the policy and objectives outlined in his agenda. To illustrate:
- Under the initiative and auspices of the President of Mongolia, the Office of the President engaged in organizing a number of events, including the National Forum on Food Safety, the National Forum on Air Pollution Reduction, a proposal to declare a state of emergency and fight air pollution, a call to politicians, public servants, and their associates who hold bank accounts in offshore regions, a workshop under the theme of Opportunities of Returning Money from Offshore Regions, discussion on Resource Management, a Year of Rejecting and Exposing Corruption and Protecting Informers and Witnesses of Corruption, a discussion on Challenges in the Mongolian Language and Future Trends, a discussion on National Development and Increasing the Role of Scientists in Public Policy, a scientific conference on Buddhism Knowledge and Contemporary Sciences, a series of television programs on culture and religion policy, a youth campaign themed Positive Attitude and Development, a children’s painting and writing campaign themed My Words to the President, an international forum on Administrative Reform of Primary and Secondary Education, a discussion themed Education and Upbringing, a discussion on Quality of Education, a discussion on the Legal Environment Surrounding the Health Sector and Citizens’ Rights to Health, a discussion on Improving the Implementation of Government Policy on Protecting Children and Women from Violence, Public Participation and Oversight, and a discussion on Child Protection, Current State, Challenges and Solutions. The Office of the President forwarded the recommendations and results of these events to the corresponding institutions, issued instructions, ensured coordination, and oversaw the implementation.
- Between January and May of 2018, the President held town hall meetings with over 220 thousand constituents in nine districts of the capital city and 21 provinces, heard their thoughts and requests, exchanged views, and responded to their concerns. During these meetings, 3,165 people expressed their suggestions and requests, 1360 of which were delivered orally while 1,805 were sent in written form. If the written requests and complaints are classified on the basis of its subject, topic, and direction, most of them are regarding pensions and benefits, offshore bank accounts, dissolution of the Parliament, unemployment and poverty, and unsound decisions and activities of government institutions. The President classified all the requests, suggestions, demands, and criticisms, briefed the Parliament on specific issues, and issued instructions and recommendations to the Cabinet and other government institutions and attached special significance to the inclusion of these requests in the policy and action plan of the President and implementation of some major actions.
President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga exercises his powers on state structure and administration, ensuring national security and defend the nation, foreign relations, and other matters that are vested in him by the Constitution of Mongolia and the Law on the President of Mongolia, as well as other laws, and is working towards implementation of the objectives outlined in his policy and action plan.”
