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This week is the 16^th Discover Mongolia conference, jointly organized by the Government of Mongolia, the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry, the Mongolian National Mining Association and the Business Council of Mongolia. Discover Mongolia is an international forum for mining industry investors and aims to promote a pro-business mining policy environment in Mongolia where mining still makes up more than 90% of total exports and nearly 75% of national GDP. The event will have over 600 representatives from more than 25 separate countries meeting in Ulaanbaatar.

At the conference Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D. Sumiyabazar revealed that there are at least 10 major mining projects pending, which are now in process of securing funding totaling over 5 billion between them. Also discussed was a planned National Sovereign Wealth Fund to improve management of revenues derived from the mining industry and better coordinate distribution of resources and secure sustainable economic growth. Earlier this week, the Coal Conference was held in Ulaanbaatar, where Mongolian coal companies announced MNT 20 billion in modernization and equipment purchase agreements. Even as Mongolia seeks to diversify it’s economy, rest assured the mining sector in Mongolia is not going away any time soon.

Also, this week the Communications Regulatory Commission hosted a delegation from Facebook. The Facebook team gave presentations regarding company polices and standards and spoke out on issues regarding protection of individual’s rights and freedoms, individual privacy concerns, as well as issues raised by efforts to combat illegal activities conducted via online platforms.

Finally, the International Conference on Strengthening Good Governance in Asian Countries was hosted this week. The event was organized by the Government of Mongolia in coordination with an association of local governments. The conference is designed to provide a platform for government officials to share strategies and techniques to improve good governance and implement best practices. The event saw the participation of 22 organizations from 11 separate Asian countries. Topics included promoting civil participation, social responsibility, citizen’s monitoring of elections, women’s participation in politics and local government capacity building.

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