The National ASEM Organization Committee has reported that transportation, accommodation, and information distribution arrangements are underway in preparation for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit being hosted in Ulaanbaatar this year.
On Tuesday, the opening ceremony for the ASEM Information Center was held at the governmental news agency Montsame on the occasion of the very first ASEM Day, which will be observed on March 1 for years to come. The ASEM Information Center will provide local and international media outlet representatives with information about the 11th ASEM Summit and its sub-meetings.
During the ASEM Summit, a press and media center will also be available at Shangri-La Hotel.
The Mongolian government is attaching great significance to the upcoming ASEM Summit. Authorities are expecting Mongolian businesses to see profits from the Summit, as the meeting’s attendees will be accompanied by foreign journalists, reporters, entertainers, and business owners from the countries they represent. They also expect that more tourists than ever before will be traveling to Mongolia this year .
The following is an Undesnii Shuudan interview with B.Bayasgalan, deputy head of the ASEM Preparation Office.
Has the issue of transportation for ASEM delegates been resolved?
It has been estimated that over 350 vehicles will be needed to serve foreign delegates during ASEM meetings. We’ve signed contracts with private vehicle importers and dealerships. Private auto dealers and official distributors will import around 250 new cars without official taxes imposed. The government has made agreements to exempt imported cars from taxes and, in turn, to use them during the ASEM Summit for free, which means [the state] will not spend any money on purchasing cars.
We are developing a project to buy over 300 buses through a soft loan from Exim Bank of South Korea to use for travel between countries and provinces. We have made a request to import 50 of them prior to the ASEM Summit to serve foreign guests.
Authorities have called on Ulaanbaatar residents to travel to rural areas during the ASEM Summit days in July. How will road traffic be regulated during ASEM?
We have developed a traffic itinerary for foreign delegates and visitors, in collaboration with the Traffic Police Department. We are planning to set temporary traffic restrictions on certain areas on July 15 and 16.
In order to avoid the traffic congestion and crowds during the ASEM Summit, we have called on Ulaanbaatar residents to travel to rural areas, and we have asked tourism companies to organize events and cultural activities in provinces during these days.
What cultural events and performances will be displayed and performed for participants of the ASEM Summit?
Overall, ten sub-meetings will be organized during the ASEM Summit, and we are planning to present cultural performances to promote Mongolia during all those events. In addition, the celebration of ASEM’s 20th anniversary will be observed at Chinggis Square.
At what stage of completion is the construction of the ASEM Villa project?
Construction work is almost done, and interior and decorative work has begun. Project executing companies promised to finish the project by May 1, 2016. We also plan to refurbish and landscape 13 streets in Ulaanbaatar.
Last week, a European Union (EU) delegation led by Alternate Senior Official for the EU in ASEM Michael Matthiessen visited Mongolia to get acquainted with preparations for ASEM, and praised Mongolia’s preparations, expressing the EU’s willingness to provide further assistance.
Michael Matthiessen said that the logo for the 11th ASEM Summit was a creative symbolic representation of Mongolia.
The Mongol ger’s center crown on the logo represents the Earth’s sphere. The three blue dashes represent a ger’s ropes and Mongolia’s past, present and future.
The blue color is the representation of a blue sky, energy, and peace. Red symbolizes good fortune and advancement, and these colors are expressed in the pillars of color on the Mongolian flag.
Source: http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/
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