Mongolia, 2008

This session of the General

Assembly is taking place at a time when the

international community is faced with formidable

challenges and threats of a much more complex nature.

Global problems ranging from poverty, violence,

inequality and disparity, terrorism, natural disasters and

other acute problems have been further impeded by the

current global financial, food and energy crisis. As we

live in an increasingly globalized and interdependent

world the solutions demand our concerted action.

The main theme of this session, namely, the

impact of the global food crisis on poverty and hunger

in the world, is most timely. Steep increases in staple

food prices lead to a global food crisis. Today millions

of vulnerable people in poor countries who were

probably making ends meet, face even greater

challenges. It is a tragic setback that more than

75 million additional people have been driven into

hunger and poverty because of the food crisis. The

economic challenges posed by soaring food prices are

daunting. They take a toll on inflation rates, breed

economic protectionism, and further impede economic

development for developing nations. Those countries

also had to cope with consequent macroeconomic

implications concerning the nexus between food price

increases and the overall inflation rate.

The Government of Mongolia, having recognized

the urgent need to address the food crisis, took the

necessary actions at both policy and practical levels to

reduce its severe impact on the vulnerable strata of its

population. My Government has designated this year as

the year for food supply and safety and aims to achieve

three main objectives: promoting food production to

reduce the country’s dependence on imported goods;

43 08-51839

raising public awareness about food quality; and

ensuring safe food production and processing in the

country.

In pursuit of the first objective I launched at the

beginning of this year the third national crop

rehabilitation drive, or campaign to reclaim virgin

lands, to revive domestic agricultural production. As a

result of that nationwide campaign Mongolia is

expected to ensure self-sufficiency in major staple food

products by 2010.

Countries throughout the world find themselves

intimately affected by oil price hikes. In our case the

situation is aggravated by the fact that the surge in

imported petroleum prices tends to be followed by

overall price increases. Coal remains the primary

energy source used for electricity and heating in many

countries. The use of inefficient coal-burning

technology causes air pollution, impacting negatively

on the population’s health and the environment.

Therefore, research, development and deployment of

clean coal technology are indeed top energy priorities

for coal-producing countries such as Mongolia.

The most effective way to mitigate these factors

is to improve energy efficiency and pursue energy

diversification. In this regard, Mongolia commends the

efforts of Member States and international

organizations in research and development and the

deployment and transfer of innovative energy

technologies such as renewable sources, cleaner and

lower carbon technologies and nuclear power. These

efforts are crucial as we seek to reduce our dependence

on fossil fuels. Ensuring energy security is a challenge

that requires a comprehensive solution both nationally

and internationally. No country in the world is

endowed with or has developed all possible energy

sources, so every country has a vested interest in

energy cooperation and has something to contribute to

it.

Mongolia gives special priority to energy

cooperation in our region. An institutional foundation

for such cooperation has already been laid with regular

sessions of the Senior Officials Committee on Energy

Cooperation in North-East Asia. The first session of the

Committee, hosted by the Mongolian Government in

November 2005, established the Intergovernmental

Collaborative Mechanism on Energy Cooperation in

North-East Asia.

The Tavan Tolgoi, Mongolia’s huge coal coking

project has an important role to play in such

subregional cooperation. Such subregional cooperation

in the energy sector, combined with ongoing efforts to

spur the implementation of the Greater Tumen River

Initiative, could be conducive to furthering the

prospect for economic integration in North-East Asia,

one of the most dynamic and diverse regions of the

world.

Since the adoption of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, we have passed

the midpoint in our efforts to implement them.

Progress on MDG implementation around the globe

reveals a sharply contrasting picture. Some countries

find themselves in more advanced stages of

achievement, while others are still lagging far behind

on all or many important Goals. Thus, there is an

urgent need to foster an effective global cooperation

aimed at assisting off-track countries in their efforts to

reach the relevant targets by 2015. In this regard, my

delegation looks forward to tomorrow’s high-level

discussion to come up with bold and specific

commitments to action.

With rich deposits of coal, copper, gold,

molybdenum and uranium, most of them still largely

untapped, Mongolia indeed has an unprecedented

opportunity to embark upon the path of rapid economic

growth and sustainable development — if we are able

to overcome the partisan divisions which have in our

recent past all too often obstructed our onward

movement. It is with this in mind that the two main

political parties, in an unprecedented move, set aside

their long-standing differences and formed a unity

Government only a few days ago, following the fifth

democratic general elections, of 29 June.

The result of the elections, concluded to have

been free and fair by more than 80 observers from

more than 20 countries, gave an undeniable majority to

my party, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party

(MPRP) with 45 out of the total of 76 seats in

parliament. However, in the face of the pressing need

to forge a national consensus on major development

issues, the MPRP has decided voluntarily to give away

its right to unilaterally form its own Government and

has concluded an agreement with the Mongolian

Democratic Party. Our two parties’ historic decision to

work hand in hand is testimony to our commitment to

the well-being and prosperity of the people of

Mongolia.

08-51839 44

I call it the fourth historic choice of my people

over the last 100 years, following the declaration of

independence in 1911, the abolition of feudalism in

1921-1924 and the embrace of democracy in 1990. I

am most confident that this unity will greatly

contribute to pulling our efforts together to collectively

succeed in achieving the MDGs by 2015 and our

MDG-based comprehensive national development

strategy by 2021, thus substantially improving the

living standards of our people and upgrading Mongolia

to a middle-income country.

In our globalized world, no nation can achieve its

goals all on its own. That includes Mongolia.

Constructive engagement in world affairs through

multilateral cooperation mechanisms, with the United

Nations at the centre, and deeper integration into the

world economy will thus continue to be the cornerstone

of Mongolia’s foreign policy. I understand all too well

that the existence of a stable, peaceful and prosperous

world is a condition for the fulfilment of my

Government’s — or any other Government’s —

promise to its people.

With this in mind, I wish to reaffirm Mongolia’s

strong resolve to continue its active engagement in the

work of the United Nations and other multilateral

organizations and processes, and our commitment to

the world Organization as a central coordinating

instrument of the common efforts of the family of

nations to address the complex challenges of our times.