AKIPRESS.COM - Ambassador of the European Union to Mongolia Axelle Nicaise and Minister of Finance B. Javhlan reinforced the partnership between the European Union and Mongolia, EU delegation to Mongolia stated on their website.

They signed a document that supports the government policies in the fields of employment reforms and the transparency of public finances.

 "The European Union’s partnership with Mongolia is very strong: we support employment reforms, upgrading of skills and at the same time we contribute to increasing the transparency of public finances. We have adapted our indicators and deadlines to reflect the socio-economic circumstances created by the pandemic and the fragile international conditions. This is a clear demonstration of the European Union commitment to the Mongolian citizens. I am pleased that our interventions are in line with Mongolia’s policies," Axelle Nicaise said.

During the meeting, Finance Minister B. Javkhlan expressed his gratitude to the European Union for the budget support grant during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, as we all easing the requirements as per the financing agreement and extending the period by one year, which provides additional time to achieve the agreed results.

The document signed is an Addendum to the Financing Agreement of €43 million on "Budget Support for Mongolia's Employment Reforms" Programme which extends the duration of the Programme until the end of 2024.

Since the signature of the Financing Agreement of €43 million in May 2020, a total of €22.2 million of direct transfers for Budget Support (non-refundable grants) have been provided by the European Union to Mongolia. The contract signed today extends the Budget Support Programme by one more year. This allows the government to have sufficient time to achieve the agreed results. It is expected that by end of 2022 additional €6.6 million will be disbursed under the Programme.

To support the efforts of the government in the public finance management and employment reforms, the European Union launched complementary assistance to the Programme with a project of €7.4 million implemented by UN Agencies (UNDP in the lead, FAO, ILO) together with the line Ministries.