A joint meeting of government members, provincial chairpersons, governors, and representatives of the Capital City was held at the State Palace to present the government’s 2026 policies and ensure a unified understanding between central and local authorities. Prime Minister G.Zandanshatar delivered a detailed report titled “One Mongolia – One Direction: Order and Reform Movement,” outlining the government’s achievements, current challenges, and reform agenda.
The PM noted that when the government was formed six months ago, Mongolia faced urgent challenges including weakened state capacity, declining public trust, slowed economic growth, falling foreign exchange reserves, rising inflation, and a potential budget shortfall. To address these issues, an emergency regime was imposed at Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC, resulting in a 1.6-fold increase in coal production and sales and a rise in foreign exchange reserves by about 2 billion USD within months. He emphasized that the economy has revived and now requires proper direction to sustain growth.
The government has set eight major reform directions for 2026–2030, including human development, economic restructuring, social values, environmental and green development, governance and digitalization, national competitiveness, regional development, and science and AI. It has also launched a “300-Day Action Plan” aimed at ensuring economic growth benefits citizens directly, including managing the National Wealth Fund and ensuring fair wealth distribution. The prime minister stressed that the state must be disciplined and efficient, and announced plans to abolish over 1,000 unlawful regulations that cause bureaucracy and delays.
Addressing local authorities, the PM urged them to work closely with citizens and take an active role in implementing reforms. He called for decentralization of authority, allowing local governments to manage budget savings, and transferring decision-making powers from Ulaanbaatar where possible. He also said the government would address unresolved issues such as land allocation for soum residents and herders’ camps and the restructuring of development funds to improve access to concessional loans for small businesses.
Following the premier’s speech, Speaker of the Parliament N.Uchral and Secretary General L.Ulziisaikhan discussed key legal reforms and budget priorities. The speaker highlighted that the 2026 budget focuses on human development, health, and education, while reducing state intervention and supporting private enterprise. He also emphasized reforms under the “Let’s Free” initiative, which aims to reduce bureaucracy and simplify regulations, and noted upcoming draft laws on economic freedom, insolvency, commerce, and state-owned enterprise reform.
The speaker called for increased regional investment through public-private partnerships, supported expanded renewable energy development, and reiterated efforts to protect citizens from price increases and improve energy independence. He also announced that 2026 is declared the Year of Child Protection, with plans to revise family and victim protection laws.
Overall, local leaders supported the reform agenda, particularly renewable energy and decentralization, and called for regional discussion of procurement and tax system reforms. They emphasized the need to reduce state intervention in the economy and strengthen local autonomy, according to the Parliamentary Press and Public Relations Department.
