This is the first in a bi-weekly to weekly series, that I am calling the Foreign Policy Roundup. In every roundup, I offer a very brief 1-2 sentence summary of foreign policy news, followed by a link to the original article. Most of the articles are from Mongolian-language sources. As a non-native Mongolian speaker, I welcome comments on any mistakes, especially if I incorrectly translated ministry names or other governmental institutions. Future posts will include commentary on important developments and stories.
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5/12: Ts. Jambaldorj was named Mongolia’s representative to ASEAN. http://politics.news.mn/content/143834.shtml
5/12: The President of “Russian Railways”, V. Yakunin arrived in Mongolia and met with President Altanhuyag and Minister of Transportation, A. Gansukh, to discuss joint projects and planning. http://politics.news.mn/content/143838.shtml
5/13: Foreign Minister L. Bold met with the General Secretary of the OSCE, L. Zannier. During the meeting Zannier expressed his happiness that Mongolia had become an official member of the OSCE, and L. Bold thanked the organization for their help in organizing the Community of Democracies meeting. http://www.mfa.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2436%3A2013-05-13-09-31-03&catid=43%3A2009-12-20-21-55-03&Itemid=62&lang=mn
5/13: State Secretary J. Bayartsetseg represented Mongolia at the UN General Assembly on the question of Human Trafficking, where he presented Mongolia’s legal measures to stop human trafficking. http://www.mfa.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2436%3A2013-05-13-09-31-03&catid=43%3A2009-12-20-21-55-03&Itemid=62&lang=mn
5/13: Mongolian Minister of Labor, Sanjmyatav signed an MOU with his South Korean counterpart on an official visit to the ROK. http://politics.news.mn/content/144145.shtml
5/14: Ministry of Justice State Secretary J. Bayartsetseg met with the director of the UN Drug Department Yu. Fedetov. During the meeting they discussed options to jointly address technical and legal issues on this topic. Drug trafficking’s connection to human trafficking and corruption was also mentioned. http://www.mfa.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2438%3A2013-05-14-07-04-59&catid=43%3A2009-12-20-21-55-03&Itemid=62&lang=mn
5/14: The Mongolian consulate in Eren, China (Inner Mongolia) met with Chinese officials to discuss a recent attack on a Mongolian citizen in the city. http://www.mfa.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2439%3A2013-05-14-08-12-43&catid=43%3A2009-12-20-21-55-03&Itemid=62&lang=mn
5/14: Mongolia’s Parliamentary Director, Z. Enkhbold received the North Korean ambassador, Hon Gyu. http://politics.news.mn/content/144164.shtml
5/14: Foreign Policy reported on a Mongolian-led project with Myanmar at Mozambique to form an group of resource-rich countries bordering on BRICS nations. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/05/14/mongolia_myanmar_mozambique_alliance_m3
5/20: The Senate Marshal of Poland’s Parliament, B. Borusevic, made an official visit to visit with members of the Mongolia’s Ikh Hural. This was his second visit to the country, and he commented on the remarkable changes he observed on Ulaanbaatar since 1999. Both sides noted the importance of Parliament-to-Parliament relations. http://politics.news.mn/content/144851.shtml
5/21: During B. Borusevic’s visit, he signed off on four projects, dealing with Mongolia’s natural environment, child welfare, and “green development”. http://www.mfa.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2445%3A66-4-&catid=43%3A2009-12-20-21-55-03&Itemid=62&lang=mn
5/21: Deputy Minister D. Terbishdavga attended the 13th Mongolia-China Government Relations Commission in Beijing. http://politics.news.mn/content/144989.shtml
5/22: Parliament Director Z. Ekhbold met with CEO Mike Jones of Jenny Oil, where they discussed recent surveys in Mongolia. Survey research results indicated that Mongolian resources might be of higher quality than Arabian oil reserves. http://politics.news.mn/content/145199.shtml
5/22-5/24: Mongolia’s Minister of Transportation, A. Gansukh, was in Germany for the International Transport Forum. http://politics.news.mn/content/145461.shtml
5/24: Mongolian Minister of Energy, M. Sonompil, discussed energy issues in Vienna, Austria at the Austrian National Parliament. http://www.mfa.gov.mn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2453%3A2013-05-24-07-23-16&catid=43%3A2009-12-20-21-55-03&Itemid=62&lang=mn
5/24-30: Vice President of the German Parliament, Edward Oswald, is on an official visit to Mongolia, during which he will be meeting with the Mongolia-Germany Parliamentary Working Group. http://politics.news.mn/content/145281.shtml
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