Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ Mongolian Association of Leather Industry (MALI) representatives Mr. Bat-Ochir Mendbayar, Vice President and Mr. Enkhbold Byamba, Manager of MS Garment company, attended ‘Mos Shoes’ an international B2B exhibition of footwear, accessories and materials, held in ‘Crocus Expo’ International Exhibition Center, Moscow, Russia on March 12-15. ‘Mos Shoes' is the oldest exhibition of the industry, which has been held since 1997. During its existence, the exhibition Mos Shoes has established itself as an effective business platform for establishing business contacts and finding new directions for development in the footwear industry.

They also attended a forum ‘Development of international cooperation in tanning and shoe sphere’ which discussed current situation in the world tanning and shoe market, trends and forecasts of development and conditions of iternational markets: customs regulation, marking products, certifications, state regulations and support. The event gathered 40 companies from associations and companies of tanning and shoe industry from Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Iran, Italy, Germany, India, China and Armenia.

During the events, MALI representatives presented about Mongolian leather industry and signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russian Tannery and Shoes Union (RTSU) as well as a Declaration on cooperation and fair competition with the forum participants on March 12. 

As a result of these agreements, both MALI and RTSU agreed to develop leather goods export-import business partnerships between Mongolia and Russia, fair and ethical competition on the market, exchange of know-how and expertise, technology transfer in leather industry, and mutual exchange of information and support on customs regulations.  

MALI representatives met number of key actors, CEOs and Board chairmen in the Russian leather sector businesses and Moscow State University of Design and Technology (MSUDT) and exchanged mutual updates and defined possibilities to build further partnerships in improving fashion design and technology of leathergoods and footwear and developing trade relationships between the two countries. The Mongolian representatives were warmly welcomed by Mr. Sergey Korotkov, Director of UNIDO Center for International Industrial Cooperation (CIIC) in Russia and his team in Moscow and MALI team requested the CIIC to faciliate in establishing contacts between business representatives from Russia and Mongolia, providing information on technology transfers, sharing technological know-how and marketing expertise, organizational support and other forms of business partnerships. 

The representatives reported back to their Association member companies on the results including their contacts and networks built, meeting discussions and agreements signed as well as follow up action plan.

The above activities were facilitated and financed by the EU funded project ‘Support to Employment Creation in Mongolia (SECiM C2)’ implemented jointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) and Government of Mongolia, particularly with Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI).

The UNIDO component of the SECiM C2 project has been implemented since March 2018 and going to January 2020 within the framework of sustainable development goals and other Mongolian Government policies. The project will contribute to increased competitiveness of exports and support to decent employment creation in the private sector, especially for leather and textile (wool and cashmere) as well as for meat and dairy industries through complementing international experience with national expertise, tehnology transfer and export market promotion in these industrial sectors.

Source: UNIDO