the Asem Drama Directed By State Officials

By Ch.KHALIUN

This year Mongolia is organizing the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit from July 15 to 16 in Ulaanbaatar. Since the news of Mongolia hosting the summit was first announced, Mongolia's leaders started placing a high priority on the meeting. Of course, ASEM is an opportunity for Mongolia to promote the country, and many people see the summit as a chance Mongolia cannot pass up.

The Cabinet created a special working group in charge of organizing the summit, and they have been taking many measures to improve the city's landscape. The Cabinet approved a budget of 20 billion MNT for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pay for the summit's organization. China is providing 15 million USD in assistance for the purchase of goods and products required for the summit, while some European countries are helping in organizing one the summit's sub-conferences, according to a government report. It is also reported that the private sector is supplying cars and building villas for the summit's guests, funded through loans from Development Bank of Mongolia.

The Mongolian Hotel Association and Office of the President reported that nearly 200 billion MNT will be spent for hotel upgrades to serve delegates from over 50 countries. The money is being issued in loans to hotels. On April 8, a total of 52 Toyota Prius 30s, valued at 3.4 billion MNT, were handed over to police for use during ASEM.

Deputy Chairman of the ASEM Organizing Committee B.Baysgalan said that preparation for the summit is being carried out in accordance with plans. He said, "Together, with the private sector, we are resolving the issue of cars to serve summit guests. We will import 250 new cars. Currently, we are working to exempt taxes for these cars. The government will not spend money on this issue. Estimates suggest that around 350 cars will be required for the summit guests. We are conducting studies on cars used by ministries, private entities, and citizens that could be used for serving ASEM guests."

"The Ministry of Roads and Transportation is implementing a project on inter-urban public transportation. Under the project, the ministry negotiated to buy over 300 buses through concessional loans from the Republic of Korea. First, we will buy 50 buses before the summit. During the summit, namely from July 15 to 16, the central road will be closed," Baysgalan said.

Last week, Mayor of Ulaanbaatar E.Bat-Uul decided to spend three billion MNT to repaint sidewalks and...