{"id":6067,"slug":"speech-by-president-khaltmaagiin-battulga-at-the-august-monthly-meeting-of-the-american-chamber-of-commerce-in-mongolia","status":"publish","tags":[],"title":{"rendered":"SPEECH BY PRESIDENT KHALTMAAGIIN BATTULGA AT THE AUGUST MONTHLY MEETING OF THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN MONGOLIA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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“Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good\nafternoon,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would\nlike to thank you for the invitation to this event and giving me the\nopportunity to discuss the outcome of my working visit and our next steps\nforward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nUnited States of America is our important \u201cthird neighbor\u201d and a close\npolitical and economic partner. We give priority to developing our trade and\ninvestment ties to a higher level with the USA, the world leader in technology,\na major player in trade and source for large foreign investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no doubt that you all welcomed the declaration of the\n\u201cStrategic Partnership\u201d between our two countries, following our tete-a-tete\nwith President Trump at the White House. The US has become the fifth strategic\npartner of Mongolia, out of the 192 countries which Mongolia has established diplomatic\nrelations with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our elevated partnership will be an important leverage to broaden and\nstrengthen the bilateral relations in all sectors, especially in the areas\nwhere it is lagging behind, namely trade, investment and economic cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the discussion with President Trump, we exchanged views on\npragmatic solutions and ways to improve our economic ties in actual numerical\nvalues. Mongolia is keen on having the United States as an important trading\npartner and a major investor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are opportunities to develop the mutually beneficial relations\nand cooperation between Mongolia and the United States in the fields of\neconomy, investment, banking, finance and trade. However, both sides agree that\nour current economic cooperation leaves much to be desired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American investors,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businessmen,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0I would like to emphasize that your investments and businesses have greatly contributed to the development of the economic cooperation between Mongolia and the US. As we focus on attracting new investors, we are still committed to providing investors and businessmen, who have overcome difficult challenges with us, with all the support to create a favorable and stable business environment where businesses can grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the environment has been set for further broadening our bilateral\nties, it is our goal to carry out substantive work based on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, Mongolia\u2019s\neconomy grew by 6.9%. In the first half of 2019, this figure rose to 7.3%. Last\nyear, new records were set with $12.9 billion of foreign trade and $7.0 billion\nof exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The economic growth\nis likely to be stable as international financial organizations such as the World\nBank and International Monetary Fund have forecasted that Mongolia’s economic\ngrowth will be 6-8% in the years 2018-2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMoody’s\u201d, \u201cFitch\u201d\nand \u201cStandard and Poor\u2019s\u201d have raised Mongolia’s credit rating, which has a\npositive impact on our foreign investment as well as the foreign relations and\ntrust amongst our domestic and foreign organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past years, Mongolia’s\neconomic difficulties and the unfavorable legal environment for foreign\ninvestment had pulled back considerably the influx of foreign investment\nbetween 2015 and 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We paid particular\nattention to regain investors\u2019 confidence and took measures to encourage and\nsupport them. As a result, Mongolia\u2019s foreign direct investment increased in\n2018, reaching $ 2.47 billion at the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of last year,\ntrade with the United States made up 1.7% of Mongolia’s total trade turnover, coming\n5th<\/sup> after China, Russia, Japan and Republic of Korea. The total US\ninvestment to Mongolia since 1990 has accumulated to $806 million, making up\n3.4% and ranking in 8th<\/sup> place overall. This shows that there is\npotential to substantially increase America\u2019s economic interest in Mongolia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Strategic\npartnership has set the foundation to draw long-term and strategic investments\nfrom the United States to large projects and programs could affect Mongolia’s\neconomic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cRoadmap for\nExpanded Economic Partnership between Mongolia and the United States\u201d was declared\nin 2018 and the two sides agreed to develop cooperation in the fields of agriculture,\nwater, renewable energy, mining, financial services and infrastructure as well\nas to cooperate in new areas such healthcare infrastructure and micro power.\nFurthermore, the signing and implementation of the Second Compact Agreement of\nthe Millennium Challenge Corporation has paved the way for Mongolian and\nAmerican companies to come together on joint projects and continue their\ncooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare ample opportunities to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, energy, small\nand medium sized enterprises and to execute specific joint projects and\nprograms. In particular, Mongolian and American businesses should make use of\nthe opportunities that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the\n\u201cBetter Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act\u201d provide\nand implement specific projects in Mongolia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore,\nyou are well aware that the approval of \u201cThird Neighbor Trade Act\u201d by the US\nCongress was one of the topics that were discussed during my visit to the\nUnited States. The adoption of this Act will have numerous economic benefits,\nincluding the development of Mongolia\u2019s wool, cashmere and textile processing\nsector, provide jobs, especially for women, increase household income, economic\ndiversification as well as export structure and market expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nUnited States\u2019 decision to give preferential tax treatment on textile products exported\nfrom Mongolia in the early 1990s assisted Mongolia in overcoming the challenges\nand difficulties during its economic transition and had a positive impact on\nthe production of wool and wool products. As a result, 40,000 jobs were created\nat that time, which accounted for approximately 20% of the domestic workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nwould like to underline that President Trump and members of both houses of the\nUS Congress expressed their support for the adoption of this law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public diplomacy, the\nrelationship between individuals, communities and businesses, has a greater\nimpact and role in the enhancement of bilateral trade and economic ties. We are\nready to exchange views with you and work together to enrich our \u201cStrategic\nPartnership\u201d through economic means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish you all\nsuccess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for your attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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