ADB PRESIDENT: MONGOLIA'S DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BENEFIT EVERYONE

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, /MONTSAME/ Mongolia has a bright future but needs to continue economic reform and to ensure that the fruits of development are extended to all its people, Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday.
A delegation led by Mr Kuroda is visiting Mongolia in conjunction with marking the 20th anniversary of the Mongolia-ADB cooperation and the 10th anniversary of the opening of the ADB Permanent Representative in Mongolia.
Mr Kuroda has given a speech at the ADB-Mongolia Partnership forum called "A Roadmap for a Happy, Healthy, and Harmonious Mongolia" in Ulaanbaatar to mark the anniversaries.
Mongolia is at “the threshold of prosperity”, Mr Kuroda said, noting that the Mongolian economy has grown by an average 7 per cent a year since 2003, with the USD 4 billion Oyu tolgoi mining agreement helping improve Mongolia's economic prospects. Per capita gross domestic product has more than tripled to USD 2,200 in 2010 from USD 638 in 2004 and foreign direct investment has soared.
“While high economic growth is desirable, further efforts must be made to make economic growth more inclusive. This means ensuring that the benefits from high economic growth are distributed more broadly, and that people have equal access to opportunities and basic social services,” Mr Kuroda said.
As of 2008, an estimated 35 per cent of the population was still living below the official poverty line. Inequality remains high within cities and between those living in urban areas and those in the countryside.
Mongolia's longer-term future depends on how well it manages its mineral revenues. Mongolia must also promote policy and institutional reform anchored in good governance, and pursue closer integration with the global economy. “This integration will help generate the private sector-led economic growth needed to sustain development,” Mr. Kuroda said.
Since Mongolia joined ADB in 1991, ADB has extended 45 loans totaling USD794.7 million to Mongolia, as well as 12 Asian Development Fund grants of just over USD170 million. The ADB also provided technical assistance support amounting to USD86 million and grants under the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction of USD31.5 million.
B.Khuder