On June 15, U.S. Ambassador Piper Campbell and Mongolian Minister of Finance J. Erdenebat took the necessary administrative steps to enable the establishment of a significant rural development initiative, supporting the people of Mongolia.  Specifically, Ambassador Campbell and Minister Erdenebat signed an amendment to expand the scope of an Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Mongolia for the Donation of Agricultural Commodities, initially signed in 2000.

“This signing highlights the continued support by the U.S. for a productive and inclusive market economy in Mongolia.  The signing of the amendment creates the opportunity to reinvest development funding originally provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approximately 15 years ago,” said Ambassador Campbell.

Funds will be used to implement activities for sustainable rural development by supporting a new “Resilient Communities” project in Mongolia.  Mercy Corps and the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism will collaborate on this program in 16 aimags with activities focused on building capacity for local governance, strengthening linkages to markets, and expanding rangeland management and land use practices that are resilient and adapted to climate change.