Prime Minister of Mongolia to end Singapore visit
Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene ends his visit to Singapore today.
PM Oyun-Erdene visited his counterpart, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, along with the Minister of Communications and Information. Talks focused on building diplomatic and economic relations between the ASEAN nations.
The Mongolians sought to learn how to properly implement government reforms in areas such as e-commerce development, public service, and IT. Mongolia’s New Revival Policy aims to increase domestic and foreign investment to aid post-pandemic recovery. However, to do so Mongolia must first reform government and economic institutions to attract investors. Singapore, with a bureaucratic code of conduct and strict laws punishing corrupt officials, has successfully reduced corruption and is an example to other countries wishing to do so.
Expect today’s visit to have little impact on Mongolia’s short-term economic outlook. Mongolia has serious, deep seated problems with corruption that must be addressed before investment becomes viable. While both parties may pledge to increase cooperation in the short-term, this is unlikely to involve major increases in trade or investment between the two countries. Long-term, if Mongolia can successfully institute necessary reforms, they may be able to grow their trade with Singapore by expanding into IT and e-commerce.
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