Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Today marks the 200th day since the formation of Mongolia’s new government. Mr. Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai was appointed as the Prime Minister of Mongolia on January 27 this year. Then, the Government was fully formed as members of his cabinet took an oath of office to the Parliament on January 29. Afterward, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene presented four key objectives of his Cabinet and started working accordingly.

Aside from economic growth and large-scale construction, the development of the countries in the world has been measured by living standards and human development. In the past 30 years, the gap between the rich and poor in Mongolia has widened, income inequality has spiked, the shadow economy has flourished, and 28.4 percent of the population has lived in below middle class. The Prime Minister emphasized that the middle class people, who are the driving force of society, today are as vulnerable as children. Therefore, the next big task for the government is to create a new national system to support the middle class.

In this regard, the government has set a goal to implement 100 projects to bolster post pandemic economic recovery as well as to pay foreign and domestic debts off in time. In addition, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC issued bonds in the primary market, which played a significant role in improving Mongolia's credit rating outlook.

Negotiations have begun to increase Mongolia's benefits from Oyu Tolgoi, and the meeting with Rio Tinto representatives have been held three times so far. A counterclaim has been filed in London arbitration and an independent expert has been appointed to look into the causes of the cost overruns and schedule delays of the Oyu Tolgoi underground expansion. It is noteworthy that independent experts have concluded that the delay in the commissioning of the underground mine and the increase in costs were not due to geotechnical conditions, rejecting Rio Tinto’s explanation on these issues. The government is working to attach this conclusion to its counterclaim.

Within the first 200 days, the government decided to provide MNT 100 billion in support to the agricultural sector, started infrastructure work of the Copper Smelting Industry, and intensified work on the natural gas pipeline project. Moreover, a strategy for the development of creative industry has been developed, the Bogd Khan Railway projects has been launched, construction of the Tavan Tolgoi power plant’s financing issues have been resolved, new Chinggis Khaan Airport in Khushig Valley has been commissioned. All of these have been done by the government to fulfill its mission to protect the jobs and support middle-income people.