ADB concludes consultations on future operational priorities with all provinces
SocietyUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has completed
provincial-level consultations as part of the 30th anniversary of Mongolia-ADB
partnership with a fifth event covering the western provinces. Governors of
Bayan-Ulgii, Govi-Altai, Khovd, Uvs, and Zavkhan provinces discussed their
medium-term development policies and post-COVID-19 economic recovery based on
agriculture, private sector development, and cross-border trade and tourism.
“ADB
is working with the government and other development partners to promote
low-carbon, climate-resilient territorial development and green economic
diversification by supporting sustainable livestock sector management and
reverse rangeland degradation,” said ADB Deputy Country Director for Mongolia
Declan Magee. “Initially focusing on Mongolia's western aimags, this investment
program will provide a transformative model for development that can be
replicated countrywide, with aimag and soum centers becoming anchors of green
agribusiness.”
Recent
major investments in the transport sector have given a boost to overcome the
western region’s isolation from domestic and international markets. The Western
Regional Road Corridor connecting the People’s Republic of China and the
Russian Federation runs nearly 750 kilometers (km) through Khovd and
Bayan-Ulgii provinces where ADB helped construct 420 km. The government has
also built paved roads connecting all western provinces with Ulaanbaatar.
The
regional event started with virtual site visits to education, energy, gender,
health, trade facilitation, and transport projects financed by ADB.
Representatives of project executing agencies then discussed impacts and
lessons from the projects and possibilities to replicate them in other regions
and provinces.
In
the second part of the event, representatives of central and local governments
discussed the region’s trade and investment opportunities as well as quality
and access of social services to promote economic competitiveness. Provincial
governors stressed the importance of supporting micro, small and medium
enterprises. They also emphasized investing in housing and urban infrastructure
to attract businesses and professional workforce to the country’s western
region where the glacier-peaked Altai mountain ranges often made this region
difficult to access.
Provincial-level
regional consultations carried out by ADB throughout the year as part of the
activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of partnership with Mongolia
heard and visited all 21 provinces. Discussions with provincial governors have
highlighted investment in infrastructure and connectivity, financing for
climate-resilient agribusiness value chains, and closing inequalities between urban
and rural areas through social services as key to promoting rural development
in Mongolia.
ADB
is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable
Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
Source:
ADB Mongolia