OVERVIEW OF THE MONGOLIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH SUPPORT AND POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPER

1. OVERVIEW OF THE MONGOLIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH SUPPORT AND POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPER For the Poverty Forum for Low Income Countries in East Asia Mrs Ts.Bumkhorol, Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Economy Mongolia

2. OUTLINE • I-PRSP • EGSPRSP • ACHIEVEMENTS • CHALLENGES • EXPECTED DIFFICULTIES IN IMPLEMENTATION • SOLUTIONS

3. BRIEFLY ON I-PRSP • Government of Mongolia began the development of the I-PRSP back in October 2000 • Very much a ‘road map’ to the preparation of the F-PRSP • Advocacy: with the support of the IFAD and WB we organized 2 day regional seminars on the theme “The development of the Poverty Reduction Strategy” at 7 different locations. • Based on recommendations of participants the task force was established, consisting of 5-7 representatives from • government • non-government • and private sector • These then took charge of the development, implementation and monitoring of the Poverty Reduction Strategy at the local level

4. Economic Growth Support & Poverty Reduction Strategy • The Government of Mongolia finalized its’ EGSPRSP in collaboration with colleagues from the World Bank in July 2003 • Was approved by International Development Agency and Board of Directors of the IMF in early September 2003 • The Ministry of Finance and Economy has played the leading role in elaboration of the strategy at national level and has established technical and an inter-ministerial governing committees led by the Minister of Finance and Economy.

5. EGSPRS Achievements • Conducted task groups on preparation of draft document amongst line ministries and Ulaanbaatar City Council. • A working group was also established to represent civil society which included 200 NGO`s - this has worked on linkages between poverty issues and the EGSPRSP. • The Government of Mongolia demonstrated its ownership and thus has added considerable contributions to capacity building of civil servants and other participants. • The Government adopted a policy document on mid-term development strategy developed in consultation with international financial institutions. • GoM’s strategic approach to poverty reduction has changed: • Previous strategies on poverty reduction were mainly based on income and social security programmes • In framework of the EGSPRS, poverty reduction will be supported by pro-poor growth, structural reforms at macro level and ensuring sustainable human development. • The document serves as a sound basis for coordination of donor assistance • Three different growth scenarios are presented (3.7%, 5.5%, 6.3%), based on due consideration of the domestic and external environment.

6. EGSPRS Achievements • Main requirement was to ensure participatory approach is utilized effectively by including all stakeholders. • Series of consultative and business meetings as well as other events were organized on the national level. These consultations involved: • members of Parliament and the Cabinet, • other high-ranking government officials on national and local levels, • representatives of donor organizations, the private sector and non-government organizations, • citizens, and the poor and vulnerable • We introduced the draft EGSPRSP at 9th Consultative Group Meeting in July 2002 .The Donor community came to the conclusion that this document will serve as a sound basis for coordination of donor assistance. • Development policies and programmes articulated in EGSPRSP will be implemented through the annual Socio-Economic Guidelines and execution will be reported in the annual Progress Report of EGSPRSP.

7. CHALLENGES • Selection of nationwide and sectoral priority programmes to determine mid-term development policies and programmes • Costing of programme implementation • Improvement of poverty diagnostic and other indicators to support monitoring, assessment and evaluation • Problems associated with the need to ensure consistency with MDGs • Selected indicators not fitting with targets • To resolve this we are working with World Bank Technical Assistance • A lack of capacity and under-development of methodologies has meant there are difficulties in: • Estimating positive and negative affects of the structural reforms and innovation policies to poverty • Predicting the risks which will be faced during implementation • There is also a need to improve the participatory process of development partners

8. EXPECTED DIFFICULTIES • The Government of Mongolia has now begun the implementation stage of EGSPRSP • Key difficulties faced: • Mongolia, has a vast territory yet a narrow economic base, • A small dispersed population, • Problematic climatic and environmental conditions, • Remoteness • And undeveloped infrastructure along with other attendant problems of small economies which negatively affect implementation. • Plus we should be aware of distractions from the main goals due to a lack of appreciation of these problems which arises from our lack of capability • And especially the danger of the unexpected - internal and external ‘exogenous’ shocks. • The threat of not implementing some programmes due to a misestimating of costs

9. SOLUTIONS • We will disseminate and advocate the strategy widely • Thus maintaining and building ownership - ensuring participation by all • We will be flexible and adopt alternative policies and programmes for implementation. • In order to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation we should establish a Poverty Monitoring System • This also requires obtaining good feedback and well-targeted research • Make improvements in the costing methods used for the implementation of EGSPRSP • Exercise leadership and commitment • Look to our friends in the donor community for support • And show solidarity with our neighbors in the fight against poverty

10. Thank you for your attention.