Mongolia Brief September 4, 2014 Part II
Special
Advisor Heumann to Arrive to Advocate Disability Rights
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
September 4 (MONTSAME) The US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar Wednesday announced that
it will host Ms Judith Heumann, the Special Advisor on Disability Rights, from
the U.S. Department of State on this September 4-7.
During her
stay, Judith Heumann will meet with a broad range of government, private
sector, and civil society representatives in Ulaanbaatar. She will run
dialogues on increasing disability awareness in Mongolia and throughout the
world, will explore ways to increase international cooperation to share best
practices and draw on the experiences, challenges and lessons learned from the
disability movement in the United States.
Previously
served as the Director for the Department on Disability Services for the District
of Columbia, where she was responsible for the Developmental Disability
Administration and the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and as the World
Bank's first Adviser on Disability and Development, Ms Heumann has experience
in working with governments and civil society on including disability in the
discussions, also in improving policies, programs, and projects that
allow the disabled around the world to live and work in the economic and social
mainstream of their communities.
Board
of Directors of Oyu Tolgoi LLC Appoints Andrew Woodley as New President and CEO
of Oyu Tolgoi
September 4
(infomongolia.com) Oyu Tolgoi LLC has appointed Andrew Woodley as new CEO,
replacing Craig Kinnell.
On September
04, 2014, the Board of Oyu Tolgoi LLC has appointed Mr. Andrew Woodley as the
President and CEO of Oyu Tolgoi, after Mr. Craig Kinnell announced his departure
from the role for personal reasons.
Andrew Woodley
is currently Managing Director of Rio Tinto’s coal business in Mozambique. He
has worked for Rio Tinto for more than 18 years, in many different areas,
including Aluminium and Coal, as well as being executive assistant to the chief
executive officer and the chairman; he has a degree in mining and an MBA.
Additionally,
Mr Woodley has worked as a management consultant and entrepreneur. He will
relocate to Ulaanbaatar with his family to take up this position.
Mr.
Jean-Sebastien Jacques, chief executive, Rio Tinto Copper, said, “I am very
pleased Andrew has accepted this exciting and challenging assignment, and we
look forward to working with him closely. I know Andrew will be an excellent
fit, and he has a wealth of expertise across a broad range of Rio Tinto’s
international operations, including solid experience in developing economies. I
would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to Craig Kinnell for
his hard work, loyalty and dedication.
Craig has been
an exceptionally strong CEO of Oyu Tolgoi LLC. He has established safety as the
number one priority, realized significant cost savings, and repositioned Oyu
Tolgoi as the safe, sustainable, profitable, and internationally competitive business
we want it to be.”
Mr. Galsan
BATSUKH, Chairman, Oyu Tolgoi LLC’s Board of Directors, said, “The Board
welcomes this appointment and has every confidence that Andrew will build on
the strong foundations Craig has created for us. We look forward to welcoming
Andrew and his family to Mongolia. I have hugely enjoyed working with Craig
over the past year. He has made a significant contribution to Oyu Tolgoi,
particularly as it transitioned from post-commissioning to steady-state
operations, and he leaves us with the business fundamentals in a position of
strength. We wish him well for the future.”
Mr. Craig
Kinnell said, “I have enjoyed my time with Oyu Tolgoi greatly, and only wish I
could have been here for longer. I am proud of the workforce and all they do
for Oyu Tolgoi and this great country, Mongolia. I wish Andrew all the best in
his new role.”
Mr. Kinnell
will be returning to the United Kingdom, for personal reasons, and will take up
a new role at Rio Tinto to be announced in due course. His last day at Oyu
Tolgoi will be 15th November 2014. Mr. Woodley will be appointed president and
chief executive officer, Oyu Tolgoi LLC, in October 2014 - this will allow for
a comprehensive handover.
Related:
Oyu
Tolgoi LLC Names New CEO – Montsame,
September 4
New CEO of Oyu Tolgoi
appointed – news.mn, September 4
Intergovernmental
Documents Signed between Russian Federation and Mongolia, September 03, 2014
September 4
(infomongolia.com) Following the one-to-one meeting that took place at the
State Affairs Ger Palace, President of Mongolia Tsakhia ELBEGDORJ and President
of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin held official talks in
the Government House on September 03, 2014.
After which,
Government representatives of the two countries have signed on 15
intergovernmental documents, where President Ts.Elbegdorj and President
V.V.Putin attended the signing ceremony and noted that these documents are big
steps forward for boosting bilateral relations and partnership.
The documents
signed between the Governments of Mongolia and the Russian Federation are:
1.
Intergovernmental Agreement on reciprocal visa-free travel between citizens of
the two countries.
2.
Intergovernmental Agreement on transferring illegal immigrants.
3. Protocol to
implement Intergovernmental Agreement on transferring illegal immigrants.
4.
Intergovernmental Agreement on forest fire protection.
5. Memorandum
of Understanding on Cooperation in civil aviation sector between Ministry of
Roads and Transportation of Mongolia and Ministry of Transport of the Russian
Federation.
6. Agreement on
modernization of Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC and development strategy partnership
between Ministry of Roads and Transportation of Mongolia and Russian Railways
JSC (RZD).
7. Agreement of
Cooperation between Ministry of Justice of Mongolia and Ministry of Justice of
the Russian Federation.
8. Memorandum
of Understanding on Cooperation between Ministry of Construction and Urban
Development of Mongolia and Ministry of Construction, Housing and Communal
Services of the Russian Federation.
9. Memorandum
of Understanding on Cooperation in developing Mongolia-Russia economic
partnership between Ministry of Economic Development of Mongolia and Ministry
of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
10. Agreement
of Cooperation to arrange the training of citizens of Mongolia in partner
universities of Rosneft between Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia
and “Rosneft” OAO.
11. Protocol on
extending the Intergovernmental Agreement on Russia’s military-technical
assistance to Mongolia.
12. Memorandum
of Understanding on technical cooperation between Ministry of Finance of
Mongolia and Russian Federal Property Fund.
13. Memorandum
of Understanding on Cooperation between Mongolian Immigration Agency and
Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation.
14. Memorandum
of Understanding on Cooperation between National Public Radio and Television of
Mongolia and “Russia Today” Russian-based international cable and satellite
television channel.
15. Memorandum
of Understanding on Cooperation between MIAT Mongolian Airlines and Aeroflot
Russian Airlines.
Statements
by Presidents of Mongolia and Russian Federation
September 4
(infomongolia.com) On September 03, 2014, President of Mongolia Tsakhia
ELBEGDORJ and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
made statements in the Government House of Mongolia.
Statement by the President of Mongolia, HE
Tsakhia ELBEGDORJ
I and President
Vladimir Vladimirovich have exchanged views and reached consensus on many
matters concerning current bilateral relations. For instances, we have
discussed on several vital issues such as infrastructure, transit
transportation, trade and economy, finance and investment, humanitarian sector
as well as issues relevant to international, regional and trilateral relations.
However, the
working visit of the Russian President to our country is a short-term, but
being conducted in a wide frames and a very fruitful visit. In the frameworks,
Government representatives of the two states have inked on 15 agreements,
protocols, memorandums of understanding and joint documents that proves how the
visit is high significant.
I would like to
underline that one of the negotiated agreements is a reciprocal visa-free
travel between citizens of our two countries. Also, in the scope of strategic
development partnership on modernization of Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC, parties
agreed to electrify Mongolian railway network and construct a parallel tracks,
which are planned to be accomplished by 2020.
Moreover, in
the frames of freight transit transportation, Mongolia-Russia and
Mongolia-Russia-China intergovernmental meetings are planned to be organized in
near future.
We have also
focused on current imbalance of trade turnover and discussed to increase the
volume up to 10 billion USD by 2020. Besides, I forwarded our proposals to
start negotiations on tax & customs fee-free of exporting goods and
products manufactured in Mongolia over a period of 20 years.
In addition, we
are pleased to note that the partnership in military and technical cooperation
are broadening and we exchanged opinions on involving Mongolian Armed Forces in
the military parade dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Great Patriotic War to
mark next year.
Finally, I am
glad that the Russian side expressed its understanding and accepted our
proposals on mutually partnering at international and regional spheres, and
participation in a top-level trilateral meeting in Ulaanbaatar.
I invite You,
the President of the Russian Federation HE V.V.Putin to pay a state visit to
Mongolia.
Thank you.
Statement by the President of the Russian
Federation, HE Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
Our talks with
President of Mongolia, Ts.Elbegdorj and this visit is entirely devoted and
coincided with one of the important events in the history of our two countries
- the 75th anniversary of our joint victory at the Khalkhyn Gol River.
I would like to
express our gratitude to Mongolia’s Government and People for looking after our
common historic heritage. The celebration events marking this important date
are proof of this respect for our past. Today we are taking part in one of the
commemorative events.
Our common
historic memory and heroic pages of the past certainly provide a good base for
building our modern bilateral relations in a spirit of mutual respect, trust
and friendship. President Ts.Elbegdorj and I were in unison during our talks in
saying that our task now is to take concrete steps to continue developing our
cooperation for the good of both our peoples.
We examined in
detail the various areas in our bilateral strategic partnership and outlined
plans to strengthen and develop it, especially our trade and economic ties.
Following these
talks, Mr. Elbegdorj and I will give instructions to the relevant Ministries to
draft a roadmap for the work ahead.
The focus will
be on developing business activity, encouraging trade and reciprocal
investment, and expanding our humanitarian contacts.
We have also
agreed to step up our cooperation in developing Mongolia’s transport
infrastructure. In this context, I want to say that developing the railway
network will help Mongolia to open up rich but for now hard to access deposits
and make broader and more effective use of its potential as a transit country.
We have built
up solid experience in the mining industry. I would cite the successful example
of Erdenet Mining Corporation, which is one of Asia’s biggest producers of
copper and molybdenum. I also want to mention MongolRosTsvetMet JSC, which
works in the gold-mining sector. These two companies account for up to 20
percent of Mongolia’s GDP and have plans for comprehensive technological
modernization.
We agreed to
intensify our cooperation in air transport. The Protocol on cooperation in
civil aviation and the memorandum on expanding Aeroflot’s and MIAT Mongolian
Airlines’ route networks will help in this area.
Russia has
traditionally been a reliable electricity supplier to Mongolia, covering 7
percent of the country’s electricity consumption and playing a big part in its
energy security.
Russian company
Rosneft OAO, one of the world leaders in hydrocarbons productions, covers a
large share of Mongolia’s demand for oil products, supplies Chinggis Khaan
International Airport in Ulaanbaatar, and has big plans for developing its
activities on the Mongolian market.
I note too that
Russian-made GAZ and URAL vehicles and buses and some other types of vehicles
have earned a good reputation in Mongolia. Our manufacturers plan to increase
their supplies to the Mongolian market.
President
Ts.Elbegdorj noted during our talks that the trade balance is somewhat skewed
in Russia’s favor and proposed that we lift the restrictions on animal products
from Mongolia entering the Russian market. We will certainly take this step in
our Mongolian friends’ favor and the Russian Government will soon make the
necessary decisions.
Mongolia has
good prospects for significantly increasing its supplies of livestock industry
produce to Russia’s market so long as it complies with Russia’s health and
sanitary norms. Our specialists have been in contact for a long time now and I
am sure that they will manage everything with success.
We also gave
particular attention to humanitarian issues and ties, areas such as education,
cultural ties, and reciprocal travel between our countries.
We know that
the Ulaanbaatar branch of one of Russia’s top universities, the Plekhanov
Russian University of Economics, is very popular. The Agreement with Rosneft
will help to develop these opportunities.
The Agreement
on abolishing visas for our citizens’ reciprocal travel is also important, as
is our regional cooperation. We will of course support coordination in
international relations and continue our cooperation in the main negotiation
forums such as the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
In conclusion,
I want to say that these talks reflected our desire to strengthen the
wide-ranging cooperation between our countries.
I want to thank
the President Ts.Elbegdorj for the invitation and thank our colleagues on both
sides for this visit’s thorough preparation.
Thank you.
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