October 30, 2009 -- Thirteen Parliamentarians – from Asia, Africa and Europe – led by Dr. Laode Ida, Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian Senate, visited Mongolia from 26 to 30 October. The delegation focused on mining and extractive industries revenue management, the impact of the global financial crisis on Mongolia’s economy and development, and good governance and social accountability.
“According to a Mongolian saying, seeing one time is better than listening a 1000 times” said World Bank Country Manager to Mongolia, Arshad Sayed, when he briefed the parliamentarians at the World Bank office. The delegation had the opportunity to visit World Bank supported projects in and around Ulaanbaatar and met with the Chairman of the Great State Ikh Hural of Mongolia (Parliament of Mongolia), D. Demberel, and with Mongolian parliamentarians. The delegation also discussed public hearing mechanisms with Mongolian CSOs and visited the Parliamentary Research Center and National Legal Institute. On October 29, the delegates participated in the Economic Policy Conference, which focused on how to manage the global financial and economic crisis.
“This field visit was a unique opportunity for our delegation to see how the World Bank and other development stakeholders are cooperating with Mongolia on its development efforts,” said MP Laode Ida, Board Member of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB). “Parliamentarians from the North and the South took this opportunity to learn more from each other and to share their own experiences with colleagues from the Mongolian Parliament”. Besides PNoWB, the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) also partnered on identifying participants for the visit.
