PRESIDENT RECEIVES MINISTERS OF NORWAY

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ In Norway with the official visit, the President Ts.Elbegdorj received on Tuesday Mr Sigbjorn Johnsen, the Finance Minister of Norway. Mr Johnsen said his country received news late 1969 about discovering deposits of oil and natural gas, and launched an extraction. “A programme on exploitation of the natural resources was submitted to parliament in 1974. We managed to reflect some principles in this programme. It states the natural resources is the property of people and their children, and that revenues from the natural resources are raised by making fruitful investments. Generally, the budget with a deficit can get the next generation run into debts, so we have chosen a way to leave wealth for the future generation,” Mr Johnsen said. In response, Mr Elbegdorj said Mongolia is facing some problems related to the mineral resources, and noted Mongolia is doing the biggest works such as creating a good governance and making a legal environment fair so that to equally distribute the mineral resources' incomes to people. Norway adopted its law on oil in 1990 and established in 1996 a special fund of natural resources to accumulate capitals from the mineral resources. According to Mr Johnsen, the fund's capital has reached USD 650 billion by the year 2012. Pursuant to related law, 60 per cent of the fund's capital is spent for buying shares at international level, 35 per cent--for buying stocks, and five per cent--for purchasing real estate abroad. It is controlled by the National Bank of Norway. ** ** ** The same day, the President Ts.Elbegdorj received Mr Trond Giske, the Minister Trade and Industry. Mr Giske said one of his duties is to control stocks of state-owned companies. "There is no need to privatize the state-owned companies because for many years they have been working with benefits," he added. B.Khuder