ULAANBAATAR, October 09, 2006- The Government of Mongolia and the World Bank will jointly host a bi-annual technical meeting with development partners on October 09-10, 2006. The meeting, which is open to the media, will be held at the Ulaanbaatar Hotel.
The meeting aims to strengthen cooperation between the Government and development partners in support of Mongolia’s economic and social priorities. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for all sides to report on and review progress since the last technical meeting, held in February 2006.
The meeting will focus on two key areas: infrastructure and environment. The meeting in February addressed education and private sector issues.
During the sectoral sessions, the Government will outline its thinking on priorities and programs in each policy area. External partners will comment on these issues from their perspective. In each session or development area there will be one or two lead discussants, representing groups that play a major role in that area. This approach aims to identify areas of need and opportunity, and strengthen coordination in specific areas that are critical to Mongolia's continued economic development.
Around 200 people, representing the Government, donor agencies, NGOs and the private sector, will participate in this technical meeting.
N. Bayartsaikhan, Minister of Finance of Mongolia, and David Dollar, World Bank Country Director for Mongolia, will speak at the beginning of the meeting.
This is the second six-monthly technical meeting using a new format to focus on key areas and evaluate progress. It seeks to align the support and input of development partners to Mongolia’s own planning and budget cycle.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Government of Mongolia, represented by the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank jointly with other partners will host a press conference to explain outcomes, and respond to questions. Local and international media are invited.
