MONGOLIA'S AMBASSADOR TO CANADA GIVES INTERVIEW TO "EMBASSY" NEWSPAPER

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ As requested by the Mongolian Embassy in Ottawa on June 24, we are delivering the full interview of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to Canada Mr R.Altangerel, given to the Canadian "Embassy" newspaper. Sometimes being the head of protocol means you have to maintain diplomatic composure in the most unexpected of circumstances. It was October of 2013, and Radnaabazar Altangerel was a director of Mongolia’s diplomatic protocol department, coordinating high level visits. Canada’s Governor-general, David Johnston, was here to meet with Mongolian President Ts.Elbegdorj. It was the first time a Canadian Governor-general had held such a visit to Mongolia, so Mr Altangerel was on his toes trying to make everything right. It would be his own president, however, that would throw him a curveball, during the state dinner on the first day of the visit. “My president introduced me to the governor general [this way],” he recalled: “‘Mr. Altangerel, our chief of protocol, will be my next ambassador to Ottawa.’” He was floored. “It was a big surprise for me!” Mr Altangerel is now, indeed, Mongolia’s Ambassador to Canada, and has been since May last year. In a June 18 interview in his downtown Ottawa office, he told "Embassy" he was happy to have met Mr. Johnston in this fashion, and unsurprisingly is a big booster of the governor general’s particular attention to his country. A week before his posting, the diplomat noted, Mr. Johnston gave a speech in California that touched on the “contribution to Western civilization” of Genghis Khan, founder and ruler of the Mongol Empire. “The enlightenment may have been sparked—at least in part—by Mongol ingenuity,” offered the governor general in that speech. That’s a nice welcome for a man representing a country he himself admits is not often thought of as a Canadian tourist destination. Mongolia wants to remind the world of the grandiose Mongol civilization that once ran the largest contiguous land empire in history. “Mongolia is still an exotic destination for Canadians, not well known,” he said. “In Mongolia, we have a good cultural heritage—big history, big civilization—and we want to share our cultural heritage, because cultural exchange is a very good way to understand each other’s nations.” The embassy is negotiating with the Musйe des beaux-arts in Montreal for a “very big exposition” in 2018, said the diplomat. Montreal is a natural place for Mr. Altangerel to expand ties because of his extensive background in French diplomacy. Mr. Altangerel, who speaks French, English and Russian, was the third and then the second secretary at the embassy in Paris from 1996 to 2000. The following year, he graduated from the Йcole nationale d’administration in Paris, and then from 2006 to 2010 he was posted again to Paris, this time as ambassador to France, Spain, Portugal and Monaco, as well as the permanent delegate to UNESCO. He’s also worked in his foreign ministry, as protocol chief and state secretary of foreign affairs. He’s married with one daughter and one son. But North America is a new nut to crack. “I am very happy to be here, since last year I had so many very friendly contacts with Canadians—not only with the politicians or with the ministers or with the government, but I had very good contact with Canadian societies, businesspeople, with people working at the universities,” he said. In addition to promoting Mongolia’s history and culture, Mr. Altangerel is also trying to diversify the country’s business image. The country is small by population and GDP standards—2.8 million and $11.2 billion respectively. It’s surrounded on all sides by either China or Russia. But it has extensive mineral deposits and so it has traditionally been a big mining partner with Canada. But while the country has seen incredible growth over the last 15 years, in 2014, Financial Times reports, “Mongolia’s economy had a bruising year” with foreign investment dropping 74 per cent year-on-year. Export Development Canada doesn’t exactly sound enthusiastic in a note from this spring either: “macroeconomic imbalances, financial sector stress, soft commodity prices, and declining foreign direct investment inflows are contributing to reduced near-term growth prospects and increased credit risks.” The two countries began talks on a foreign investment deal back in 2009, but it was only last summer that the two foreign ministers put out a press release where they “welcomed the renewal” of the talks. Mr. Altangerel puts it this way: “I think very soon we will conclude this agreement.” Still, it’s clear the country needs stronger infrastructure to deal with any growth coming its way: railways, bridges, airports, roads, power plants, you name it. “We have very similar climate conditions,” noted Mr. Altangerel. He suggested Canadian technology would be of good use in building cold-tested projects. In 2010, the two countries signed an MOU allowing Mongolia to adopt Canadian norms and standards in the infrastructure sector. “But signing a document is just the beginning,” says the diplomat. Last year, he said, there were exchanges of experts, and he’s looking to organize a working visit of their construction minister now. He also brings up agriculture. “Livestock is the second economic sector of Mongolia. Saskatchewan is for us an agricultural destination in this sector.” He’ll be attending Canadian Western Agribition, Regina’s huge agriculture trade show in November. Counting the votes for the ambassador, working with Canada also provides an opportunity to talk values. Given the East Asian neighbourhood, Mongolia likes to boast about its democratic chops. “This year we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Mongolian democracy,” the ambassador said. “Celebration is not just a ceremony, it’s to share the democratic values with our friends, including Canada. But Mongolia wants to be an example...in East Asia. You know very well in China, Russia, North Korea...we try to contribute democratic processes in the region.” It’s a theme Canada loves picking up on. During Mr. Johnston’s speech, for example, he mentioned the “shared values of democracy” between the two countries. That same exact phrase appears in the foreign minister joint statement from July 2014. Mongolia even hosted the Freedom Online Coalition conference in Ulaanbaatar on a request from Canada, the ambassador said.