Minister of Foreign Affairs B.Battsetseg received UN Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra

Both parties briefly exchanged views on the current socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the Mongolian Government, where the Minister expressed her gratitude to the UN for its assistance to Mongolia in the containment of the spread of the virus and national vaccination program. The UN has been supporting Mongolia in its response and recovery from the current pandemic outbreak with appr. US$ 24.7 million in various formats collectively through the UN agencies in Mongolia.

Minister B. Battsetseg highlighted the timely measures by the Government on pandemic outbreak management, including repatriation of the Mongolians stranded abroad by increasing the number of charter flights and shortening the quarantine days for the returnees. She expressed her appreciation to the UN for the generous support of MNT 3.2 billion through the UN’s International Organization for Migration that enabled the repatriation of the vulnerable Mongolians abroad who needed urgent assistance. So far, Mongolia brought back more than 20,000 Mongolians and is working to bring more than 9000 Mongolians home.  

At the meeting, the UN Resident Coordinator emphasized the need for strengthening cooperation on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Mongolia, ensuring that they are aligned with the national development policies. He reiterated here the importance of establishing the multi-stakeholder platform for sustainable development that ensures engagement with all stakeholders including donors and development partners in Mongolia for accelerating the development of Mongolia through coherent policies and an integrated approach for implementation of SDGs.

Minister B. Battsetseg reiterated the Government’s support to the UN’s commitment to the implementation of the SDGs and informed that the spring session of the Parliament planned to discuss and adopt the nationalized SDGs indicators and targets.

Parties have exchanged views and plan on upcoming joint events, including the Food Systems dialogue and celebration of the 60th anniversary of Mongolia’s membership in the UN in 2021.