Mongolia close to signing green energy agreements with Saudi Arabia

Mongolia's deputy premier said that the country expects to sign agreements worth several billions of dollars with Saudi Arabia in the coming months. It is also in discussions with the United Arab Emirates about similar investments.

Mongolia, a country rich in copper and coking-coal deposits, is positioning itself to be a new supplier of vital minerals and attract foreign investors.

The government has announced 14 mega projects in infrastructure, energy and connectivity that will require investments of $15-30 billion.

Togmidyn Dorjkhand said, "With Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power, there is an 10-gigawatt project for renewable energy, and then there is the possibility of a green hydrogen project worth $5 billion," in a recent interview at the World Economic Forum, in Davos.

He added, "We are trying to move as fast as we can... We expect to sign within the next few months."

Mongolia is also working to finalise new railway connections with China in order to export coking coal to India. Dorjkhand stated that a discussion on this issue is expected to end in the next month.

He said that Australia's Rio Tinto was in negotiations with his country to settle any tax claims.

In a report published earlier this week, Rio Tinto offered $295 million in settlement of a long-running dispute with the Mongolian government over the Oyu Tolgoi Copper Mine.

Dorjkhand stated that the Rio project is one of the most successful examples of foreign investments in Mongolia. The two sides are working closely together to resolve the issue of tax.

"Something will happen, and I hope it will be resolved quickly." "That's what I expect," he said. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson; Marwa Rashad)

(source: Reuters)