A development conference organized by the Finance Ministry at the Terelj Hotel has concluded. Entitled “MON-ADB Partnership: A Roadmap for a Happy, Healthy, and Harmonious Mongolia,” the conference was held to mark the 20th anniversary of Mongolia’s membership in the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as well as the tenth anniversary of the establishment of a permanent ADB office in the country.
ADB President H.Kuroda, Mongolian President Ts.Elbegdorj, and several MPs took part in the conference. Other participants included Nobel Prize-winning economist R.K.Pachauri, former deputy president of the Central Bank of Chile Manuel Marfan, and the head of the University of Ohio’s Center for African Studies, Kelechi Kalu.

President Ts.Elbegdorj opened the conference with a speech and noted how the cooperation of the ADB helped jumpstart Mongolian economic growth. He emphasized that collaboration with the ADB has entered a new period.

Finance Minister S.Bayartsogt said the ADB is Mongolia’s biggest partner of all international organizations because one-quarter of all development loans and aid has been financed by the ADB.

Nobel Prize-winning economist R.K.Pachauri gave a speech entitled “Climate Change and Stable Development,” in which he warned that climate change will have a negative impact on water, food, health, and migration.

Delegates also discussed the importance of Mongolia studying the experiences of other countries to avoid the so called natural resources “curse” that has plagued Chile and some African countries.