First GDSSCF-funded project in Mongolia launched

On Feb 2, a signing ceremony between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Mongolia on a forest firefighting capacity enhancement project was held in Ulan Bator. UNDP Resident Representative in Mongolia Matilda Dimovska and Mongolian Minister of Environment and Tourism Bat-Erdene signed the document on behalf of their respective sides. Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Shen Minjuan attended the event as a representative of the donor country. This is the first project launched in Mongolia to be supported by the China-funded Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDSSCF).

In her address, Shen said that the GDSSCF, established by China in 2015 with a funding of $4 billion, is a major platform for implementing the Global Development Initiative (GDI), focusing on people's livelihoods in such areas as poverty alleviation and disaster reduction, medical and health care, and green development.

Under this framework, China has cooperated with over 20 international organizations including the UNDP and the World Health Organization, and carried out over 130 projects in nearly 60 developing countries, benefiting over 30 million people and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Noting that China and Mongolia are linked by mountains and rivers and share a common destiny, Shen raised her hope that the project could help Mongolia strengthen its forest fire prevention capacity and promote green development. China will take more proactive participation in multilateral cooperation under the GDSSCF framework, and work with the UN to explore more "small yet smart" people's livelihoods projects in Mongolia, she said.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Mongolia diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, according to Shen. China looks forward to working with Mongolia to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, carry out cooperation on desertification prevention and control, support Mongolia's initiative to plant one billion trees, and jointly build a community with a shared future and share the fruits of development, she added.

Bat-Erdene expressed his appreciation to China. He said that this year also marks the centenary of Mongolia's forestry departments and the Mongolian government has named the year 2024 as forest protection year, which renders more significance to the launch of the project this year. Mongolia will continue to consolidate cooperation with China in the ecological field and implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state on strengthening ecological and environmental protection, coping with global climate change, combating desertification and promoting green development, he added.

Dimovska thanked the Chinese fund for financing the project, and lauded its important role in promoting sustainable development in developing countries. She said that the UNDP will further strengthen cooperation with China and strive to build the project into a demonstration project, helping Mongolia achieve further development.