Ts.Munkh-Orgil, the Mongolian Foreign Minister is making an official visit to Nepal from 18th to 20th of December, at the head of a high-level delegation from the Government of Mongolia.

Ulaanbaatar traditionally welcomes the start of the New Year’s festivities by lighting the tree on Sukhbaatar Square. This year, lighting the tree lighting ceremony is held publicly on Monday (19th of December) on the Mongolian capital’s central square.

So far, an area for playing an ice version of the traditional Mongolian game of knucklebones and an ice-skating rink have already opened at Khui Doloon Khudag. With the opening of the ski resort the ‘Mongol Naadam Complex’ can now operate the whole year round.

The Mongolian police have arrested a group of people who forged fake tugriks to the value of MNT 15 million. The men aged 35 and under, used their computer graphic skills to design the fake money. The case is currently under investigation by the prosecutors’ office.

The number of people aged 60 and above has grown dramatically over the past decade. According to the Mongolian Census Bureau, the population in this age group increased from 151.2 thousand in 2010 to 170.3 thousand in 2013. In total, the Mongolian population increased by 16.1% over the past decade; the number of people age 60 and above grew by 21.9%.

The Golden Ball award ceremony organised by the Mongolian Football Federation took place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Ulaanbaatar on December 12.

Mongolia plans to construct a new oil refinery with USD 1 billion credit from India’s ‘Export-Import’ Bank. Overall project investment will be USD 1 billion, which splits into USD 0.7 billion for refinery construction and USD 264 million for laying the oil pipeline.

Russian Railways is seeking to attract additional cargo traffic to the Ulaanbaatar Railway, Russian Railways President Oleg Belozerov said at a meeting with D.Ganbat Minister of Roads and Transport Development of Mongolia in Moscow.

Former frontier market darling Mongolia has had a tough time in a world of low commodity prices, with its government struggling to make ends meet, but a spike in global coal prices could see the country stage a comeback.

Mongolia’s giant Oyu Tolgoi mine has resumed its copper concentrate exports to China. The mine had been forced to call a halt because Beijing had demanded an  2% additional fee for all shipments.