Minister of Environment meets US ambassador

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Minister of Environment, Green Development and Tourism D.Oyunkhorol received Thursday the Ambassador of the USA to Mongolia Ms Piper Anne Campbell. The latter noted that Embassy is to focus on water issues in 2015 in frames of the Second Millennium Challenge Account project being implemented under the support of the US government. The Minister Oyunkhorol said that the Government plans to take many actions in a short period of time. The Ministry faces with many issues that need to be settled, for example, reducing greenhouse gas, nurturing the planted trees, increase their numbers, reducing the air and soil pollution of Ulaanbaatar. She also noted that the Ministry should promote with policy the voluntary unions formed to preserve the environment, because the environment protection must be conducted with citizens’ involvement and state support. “The Ministry will, therefore, work for forming the most efficient system of environment protection” she said. The changes must help reduce the unemployment rate in the localities, and the remediation of the environment in after mining activities should be refined, she added. Ms Oyunkhorol said that Mongolia will attend the ITB Berlin exhibition to be held in March with focus of the landmark-based tourism, and asked the ambassador to collaborate on this. In response, Ms Campbell promised to study the cooperation opportunities in the proposed fields, and informed that the US embassy in Ulaanbaatar is implementing a project on protecting cultural and historic monuments that are encountered in the travel destinations. The dignitaries agreed to hold a meeting once again to discuss the prior directions of cooperation.