STATE SECRETARY PARTICIPATES IN IDEA MEETING

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs G.Tsogtsaikhan took part in the 22ndmeeting of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s (International IDEA) member-states’ council held November 27-29 in Santiago, Chile. The meeting approved a working report of the IDEA’s Secretary-General, a report from the Board of Advisers, a middle-term goal of the institute, the 2014 Action Programme, and the budget. The participants expressed a satisfaction with a successful leadership of Chile for the institute as well. In addition, some appointments were made, for example, a working group was set up with 11 countries, including Mongolia, to elect a new Secretary-General. Mongolia was selected as one of the seven states of the IDEA Board, and Mongolian MP R.Burmaa--as a member of the Board of Advisers. Within the meeting, Mr Tsogtsaikhan also met with Ms Joan Sawe, an Acting Secretary-General of the IDEA, to discuss opinions on the collaboration between Mongolia and the institute. The institute’s authorities expressed a satisfaction with close cooperation with Mongolia and stressed their willingness to expand the ties. The institute also emphasized an importance of an initiative on establishing a center of election observers, made by the Mongolian President during the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies (CoD) last April in Ulaanbaatar. As chairing the International IDEA, Chile organized a forum of democracy themed "Youths’ participation in politics and elections". It was addressed by the Chile FM Alfredo Moreno Charme who said the young people must understand that it is much more important to rule a country in a democratic way rather than to elect leaders. Then the Republic of Botswana was elected the IDEA chair for the next year.