US Trade official and mining giants visit Mongolia

Ruth Allerstorfer

On September 25. the Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service. MR.S.Kumar. and American Ambassador MR. Jonathan Addleton held a press conference at the ambassador's Residence in Ulaanbaatar, marking the end of MR.Kumar's two and a half day visit to Mongolia.

Mr.Kumar was accompanied to Mongolia by a delegation of US mining companies including Rio Tinto, Peabody Energy, General electric, and the Appalachian Regional Commission among other prominent companies in a visit which sought to promote the US-Mongolian business partnership.

The visit itself was a follow-up to US Vice President Joe Biden's official visit earlier this year, and included meetings with the President's office, various government ministries, and with Mongolia's business community.

These meetings centred on the opportunities and challenges facing Mongolia's mining sector,with the conversations aiming to establish concrete ways of moving beyond bilateral negotiations to engage companies and bring in investment, the "foundation for deepening ties" between Mongolia and the US.

Bilateral relations are already strong and growing, and Mr.Kumar's visit hopes to be a stepping stone in taking these relations to the next level by encouraging the private sectors of the two countries to work together.

Mr.Kumar stressed the assistance American companies can give to Mongolia in terms of technologies and services in all sectors of its ongoing development, iterating his strong belief that American companies have both the skills and the willingness to help Mongolia along the path it aspires to. Indeed "these are exciting times in the life of Mongolia and in the economy of Mongolia" He went on to note that it is this wealth of potential in Mongolia that is "really exciting" and that the "opportunities in the Mongolian sector are immense". The mining sector is just becoming a large-scale enterprise and the government still havs the opportunity to lay the right foundations to ensure its successful development.

However Mr.Kumar also stressed the importance of promoting transparency with regard to mining contracts and project specifications so that all parties know where they stand. In line with this, he went on to compliment the government for its decision to stick with the agreed-upon contract for the OT (Oyu Tolgoi) agreement. A factor of huge significance for potential investors.

He further lauded the government's "foresight" in making environmental concerns. Safety standards and good technology a central issue with regard to mining developments and encouraged the advocacy of sustainable and safe practices in future mineral-related projects so these take care of ecological and geological considerations and employ local people.

Ambassador Addleton was in the US for the majority of Mr.Kumar's visit with the two men working on opposite sides of the same coin with regard to strengthening bilateral relations.

While Mr.Kumar's visit focused exclusively on developments in the mining sector the Ambassadors work featured elements related to other sectors of the economy including a visit to Boeing (manufacturer of MIAT's new aircraft) and a meeting with Mongolian students in Alaska who are in the position of making an important contribution to Mongolia's development in the years ahead.