CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 04/2019

LE MONDE MONGOLIA
A monument for Chenghis
Khan (left); and an evening
sight of Mongolia‘s capital
Ulaanbaatar (below).
A softer kind of tourism:
trekking tours are popular in
Mongolia and can be booked
from one day upwards, also in
the very elegant way (middle);
Tsambagarav is a mountain
between Khovd Province and
Bayan-Olgii Province in
western Mongolia (below).
Mongolia is the perfect location for sustainable
tourism. ”As of August 2019, Mongolia has received
about 500,000 tourists, this is an increase of 10.1%
on the previous year. Certainly, there is a lot to do to
attract more tourists and my Government has been
implementing many projects”, explains Ambassador
Gankhuurai. For example, the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) has decided to provide USD 38 million
financing for the development of ecotourism in
Khuvsgul Lake National Park and Onon-Balj National
Park to serve as model for economically inclusive
development and conservation in Mongolia. Those
projects are focused to contribute to the implementation
of Mongolia’s National Program on Tourism
Development 2016-2030 as well as promotion of development
strategies to diversify the economy, improve
climate-resilient infrastructure, protect the
environment, and increase economic opportunities
for residents in rural areas.
Mongolia also actively cooperates with international
institutions on numerous projects. This year, the
Ministry of Environment and Tourism joined the
Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and si-
gned the agreement to promote sustainable development
of tourism in Mongolia through application of
the GSTC Framework of Sustainable Tourism Development.
The GSTC encourages destinations that
follow sustainability practices in development and
management of tourism.
In the world of fine arts, Mongolians also leave
impressive marks. Tuvan throat singing, also known
as Mongolian throat singing, is one particular variant
of overtone singing. The performer produces a
fundamental pitch and simultaneously one or more
pitches over that. One of the well-known artists in
this area is Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig who also is a
master in playing the traditional horsehead-violin.
The career of the young Mongolian opera baritone
Amartuvshin Enkhbat who is now touring all
over Europe, was influenced by Operalia, The World
Opera Competition, founded in 1993 by opera singer
Plácido Domingo.
Having been asked about the future of the opera,
Enkhbat stated: ”The opera will never disappear. I
observe that the opera is currently developing very
strongly in Asia.”
PHOTOS: EMBASSY OF MONGOLIA, B. BAYAR
Mongolians leave impressive marks in
the world of fine arts: opera baritone
Amartuvshin Enkhbat (left) is one of
many young Mongolian opera talents
and Mongolian throat singer,
Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig (right),
who is also a master in playing the
traditional horsehead-violin.
44 Cercle Diplomatique 4/2019