Trade & Investment

With its position adjacent to two of the world’s largest economies, Russia and China, Mongolia’s trade potential holds significant appeal for foreign investors. Furthermore, just as it strives to diversify the sources of its foreign direct investment, the country’s policy of cultivating “third neighbours” is set to broaden trade patterns geographically and should gradually improve the terms of trade. Exports to the US increased dramatically between 2010 and 2012, from $12m to $42m, while imports from the US grew from $116m to $665m over the same period. Despite this significant growth, trade with the US still represented a very modest share of Mongolia’s overall trade in 2012, when the country’s imports and exports were valued at $4.84bn and $6.74bn, respectively. FDI inflows are expected to reach $2.5bn in 2013, and then be lower in 2014, reaching approximately $2bn, with the overwhelming majority of these funds going to mining and resource extraction. This chapter contains an interview with Fumio Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Japan; viewpoints from José Manuel Barroso; President, European Commission; and David Johnston, Governor General of Canada; and an interview with Roger Gifford, Alderman and Former Lord Mayor of London.