Austria to Cooperate in Increasing Renewable Energy Source

The Minister of Energy, M.Sonompil, is paying a working visit to Austria at the invitation of its Federal Minister of Economy, Family, and Youth, Reinhold Mitterlehner.

The counterparts held a meeting yesterday to discuss the economy and the energy sector of Mongolia, particularly the issue of renewable energy. During the meeting, Minister Mitterlehner discussed the current Austrian economic situation and emphasized Austria’s willingness to develop the two country’s friendship by boosting mutual economic cooperation and launching various economy-oriented projects.

Minister M.Sonompil, who is also the Chairman of the Mongolia-Austria Intergovernmental Commission, conveyed Mongolia’s interest for the Austrian government to reconsider and review its decision to grant Mongolia 40 million EUR in soft loan, as discussed in the 4th intergovernmental commission meeting held in 2010.

He also mentioned that, back then, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to invest in projects and programs in health, energy, and infrastructure with that loan. He then propositioned to implement a project to build a power plant with advanced Austrian technology.

The Austrian Minister acknowledged the proposal, and he emphasized that both sides should give proper attention to the spending of the soft loan in order for it to be of much benefit. In addition, he stated that some Austrian companies have expressed an interest to invest in...