Ms.S.Odontuya, Vice-Chairwoman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, and Ms. Kh.Bulgantuya, Member of Parliament and Minister of Labour and Social Protection held a press briefing to give information on the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue forum being held tomorrow in Ulaanbaatar. 

At the beginning of the briefing, Ms.S.Odontuya noted the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue was being held under the general theme of Gender Equality and Sustainable Development, and emphasized that Mongolia is striving towards the greater goal of ensuring gender equality within the framework of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Vice-Chairwoman further explained that it is imperative that each and every country in the pursuit of sustainable development makes progress on the issue of gender equality, as the time has come for development indicators to be measured by factors such as human development – namely health and education of the people, the character, values, ethics, and competitive skills of the children. She stressed the participation of women and mothers are essential to furthering human development.

It was also mentioned that a number of high-ranking guests and delegates will be in participation at the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue. In attendance are a total of 52 high-ranking guests from over 10 countries, including H.E.Ms.Kim Young-joo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Mr.Ban Ki-moon, Former UN Secretary General and Chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future, Prof.Gi-Wook Shin, Director of the Walter H.Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center of Stanford University, Prof.Eun Mee Kim, President of Ewha Womans University, Mr.Mehmet Süreyya Er, Secretary General of Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking States.

Ms.Kh.Bulgantuya mentioned that alongside Mr.G.Zandanshatar, Chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, she participated as a keynote speaker at the Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue held in Seoul last year on the topic of Environmental Sustainability Against Climate Change. It was noted that it was during the Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue that the initiative to organize the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue in Mongolia was conceived.

Ms.Kh.Bulgantuya further elaborated that there has been a global increase in violations against women’s rights and gender based violence following the COVID-19 pandemic and that these issues have become a pressing problem for countries in the Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. In this respect the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue is crucial to meeting the SDGs.

She explained that the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue is distinct in the fact that it will also be convening Mongolian academicians, researchers, and students. Аlthough development issues are considered in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in recent years, as a result of the global pandemic and geopolitical issues, the phenomenon of the stagnation and delay of its implementation is also a pressing issue that requires attention from Mongolia.

Ambassador Ts.Jambaldorj, Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Secretariat of the State Great Hural of Mongolia briefed reporters on the Academic Session to be held on the issue of Altai Studies during the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue.