Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On March 15, the 2022 spring session of the State Great Khural opened.

Present at the opening session were the President of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene, members of the Cabinet, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, and other relevant officials. Heads of foreign diplomatic services and international organizations participated virtually.

In his opening speech delivered at the session, Speaker G.Zandanshatar said, “The time has come for the government, the private sector and the public to unite and move forward with confidence to seize every opportunity to revive the country's economy, as well as to consistently implement the ‘New Revival Policy’. While the situation with the pandemic is improving, the current international situation has become tense, which creates many unpredictable and uncertain risks”.

“Amid the unstable external environment, it is important for us, the Mongolians, to be united, not to mislead others, to draw hasty conclusions and provoke the public. In the era of information warfare, we must take decisions that affect the public interest seriously”.

According to the preliminary results of 2021, the Mongolian economy grew by 1.4 percent, which is significantly lower than the forecasts of international and domestic professional organizations.

“Although the pandemic is on the decline in Mongolia, the exports are showing an inadequate performance due to the tough prevention measures of neighboring countries and the impact of the external environment. Tensions in the international arena are likely to have a negative impact on our economy in the form of rising inflation, shortages of certain goods, falling exchange rates, and regional investment risks. Therefore, appropriate fiscal and monetary policies are needed to manage inflation and the economy” he added.

In the first two months of 2022, the production of non-iron ore mining products decreased by 13-97 percent, and the balance of payments showed a deficit of USD 340.9 million in January.

He emphasized that the following measures are needed to be taken:

1. Ensure a stable supply of consumer and strategically important goods, take measures to diversify sources of supply and reduce price increases;

2. Immediately implement monetary and fiscal policy to support import-substituting and export-oriented national industries in all aspects;

3. Discuss and approve renewed public debt management plan as the global financial market becomes unstable due to conflict and the risk of refinancing Mongolia's foreign debt in the coming years increases;

4. Increase the capacity of border ports and intensify efforts to increase exports to prevent the continuation of the economic downturn;

5. Target welfare policies to the target group, as inflation and economic hardship are likely to hit the most vulnerable segments of the population.

He further said, “We also need to see that there is an opportunity behind the risk and try to seize it. The price of gold on the world market almost reached USD 2,000 per ounce. Moreover, coal prices have risen by CNY 300 per ton since the beginning of March. Analysts revealed that although copper prices are at their highest peak in a decade, they are expected to rise further to USD 15,000 per ton. In addition, our country has the potential to become a connecting bridge between Europe and Asia”.