Privatization in Mongolia

Mongolia, bordered by the Great Wall of China in the south and Siberia in the north, is mainly desert and a steppe plateau. Gobi desert is entirely wasteland and the Altai Mountains rise to 4,653 meters (15,266 feet). Rivers include a section of Yellow River (Huang He) in the south and the Selenga, Orkhon, and Kerulen in the north. Rainfall averages less than 38 cm (15 inches) a year.

Mongolia was traditionally a land of nomadic pastoralists and livestock breeders. Wheat and oats are the main crops. Coal, iron ore, copper, gold and oil are important mineral resources. The railroad that crosses the nation from north to south links Beijing with Russia, but most roads remain unpaved. Camels and yaks are often used as transport in the desert and mountains. Wool, hides, meat, cloth and leather goods are exported. Skilled laborers are imported.

By 2000, about 70% of the economy had been privatized. That’s why the Technical Vocation and Education Training (TVET) project (from 2009-2013) has as its key focus to establish Public-Private Partnerships to improve the skills of youth to enhance individual wages but also economic growth.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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