Visit to Canada of His Excellency ENKHBOLD Zandaakhuu, Chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From March 24 to 29, 2013, His Excellency ENKHBOLD Zandaakhuu, Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia, led a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to Toronto, Ottawa and the Vancouver area at the invitation of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P. The delegation was composed of His Excellency ENKHBOLD Zandaakhuu, Chairman; Ms. BAT ULZII, the Chairman’s wife; Mr. ENKHBOLD Nyama, M.P.; Mr. BATTSEREG Namdag, M.P.; Mr. BOLOR Bayarbaater, M.P.; Mr. TSOGTSAIKHAN Gombo, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ms. NARANTUNGALAG Tserendorj, Director of the Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Division, Chancellery of the State Great Hural; and Ms. DORJZOVD Enkhtuya, Director of the Media and Public Relations Division, Chancellery of the State Great Hural. His Excellency ZALAA UUL Tundevdorj, Mongolian Ambassador to Canada, also accompanied the delegation during its entire stay in Canada and was joined by Mr. David Tsubouchi, Honorary Consul in Toronto, and Mr. Tobin Robins, Honorary Consul in Vancouver, during the stops in those cities.

In Ottawa, the delegation met with:

• The Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable Pierre Claude Nolin, Senator, representing the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable John Baird, P.C., M. P., Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• The Honourable Ed Fast, P.C., M. P., Minister of International Trade;
• The Honourable Gerry Ritz, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food;
• The Honourable Joseph Day, Senator, Chair of the Canada-Mongolia Friendship Group:
• Several Senators and Members of Parliament at the two official meals hosted by the two Speakers and the members of the Canada-Mongolia Friendship Group;
• Mr. Lewis Megaw, Regional Vice-President, and senior officials of Export Development Canada;
• Representatives of Canadian mining companies operating in Mongolia at a meeting organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT);
• Ms. Kerry-Leigh Burchall, Director General, and Mr. Franz Klingender, Conservator, at the Canada Agriculture Museum; and
• Canadian business people operating in Mongolia.

In the Vancouver area, the delegation met with:

• In Vancouver, the Honourable Bill Barisoff, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, together with the Honourable Rich Coleman, Deputy Premier, Minister of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas and Minister Responsible for Housing;
• In Delta, representatives from Linwood Custom Homes, a softwood supplier;
• In Surrey, representatives from Interex Forest Products, an exporter shipping softwood in containers;
• Representatives from Port Metro Vancouver, with Mr. Tim McEwan, Associate Deputy Minister, Major Investments Office, Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, and with Mr. Ken Baker, CEO of Forestry Innovation Investment;
• Representatives of Canadian businesses operating in Mongolia;
• Professors and other experts on Mongolia and Canada/Mongolia relations in a panel discussion organized by the University of British Columbia; and
• Members of the Mongolian community in Vancouver.

The visit was organized as part of the celebrations marking forty years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Mongolia considers Canada to be its “third neighbour” after China and Russia, particularly because Canada has made considerable contributions to the development of democratic institutions in Mongolia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Canada ranks as the second largest investor in Mongolia after China, mainly in mining. Bilateral relations have been developing significantly for 10 years, with the country now wishing to open up in areas like defence, education, culture, tourism and academic exchanges. A number of commonalities point to exchanges between the two countries: these include huge and sparsely populated areas, a similar climate with similar effects on agriculture and livestock production, and significant natural resources with considerable potential. In the meetings with businesses, the Mongolian delegation showed most interest in Canadian expertise in international trade – hence the visit to Export Development Canada – but also in residential construction using wood, from which Mongolia already benefits through softwood lumber companies in British Columbia. The discussions with the Canadian mining company representatives and other concerned groups focussed mainly on the recent difficulties that have arisen in Mongolia following a number of legislative measures dealing with royalties and other conditions attached to natural resource development, as a result of the “resource nationalism” that has been in force since the most recent parliamentary elections in 2012.