Please share your impressions after coming to Mongolia.
It's not entirely new for me because I was the Ambassador of Lithuania to China, also accredited to Mongolia until 2020. So, I visited Mongolia many times but never lived here. When I came to Mongolia in September, not that many surprises, but I could see changes that occurred over the four years.

My first impression about Mongolia is how  the people are incredible - very open-minded, friendly and curious people. They are not shy and easy to talk to.

Second, the cultural scene in Ulaanbaatar is spectacular. Personally, I enjoy arts and culture immensely. I have already been to many galleries, exhibitions, theatre performances including “Mongol Khan” and “Son of the Sky”, concerts and jazz club. 

Overall, my impressions are certainly very positive. There are many things to look forward to during my stay.

I am looking forward to my first winter in Mongolia. Even though, I come from the north of Europe, where snow and cold temperatures are regular, but maybe extreme cold temperatures is not and I’ve been living in Laos for the last few years. So, it is exciting.

I would like to travel around Mongolia and visit all the provinces. So far, I've been to Khustai National Park. I managed to see Przewalski horses, deers and gazelles. It was remarkable. But then we got into the big traffic on the way back to the city, it took more than three hours to reach home from the entrance of Ulaanbaatar. It was long. I understand that spending a lot of time in traffic has  become part Mongolians’ life.

I'm glad that I'm coming at a time when the new government was formed, and local election just happened. I am looking forward to working together and deepen our cooperation.

What specific goals do you plan to work on during your appointment here?
The European Union in Mongolia is working in several priority areas in Mongolia, which I will continue to expand.

First one is forestry. The Forest Partnership between Mongolia and the European Union started in 2022, when Mr. Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia and Ms Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Egypt. We have our action document, Roadmap, which we are implementing now. Just recently we had our Policy working group meeting to discuss two new project proposals, along with financing opportunities and future strengthen the cooperation. For instance, we discussed about potential projects that could be financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s for EUR 200 million along with grants from the EU.  

In forestry, it not only about growing trees but also about people and sustainable management. Why is it about people? Because it's also about creating green and decent jobs to generate income, and diversify the economy in a sustainable manner. Forests are long-term investment.

In Europe, we have coverage of forests and extensive experience in protecting and developing the sector. We are ready to come with not only financial support but also technical expertise.

Second big area we work on is public finance management. We have our Budget support program with Government of Mongolia. Through this program, we want to promote employment as well effective use and management of public resources.

We  want to encourage more investments from Europe and increase bilateral trade between European countries and Mongolia.

Youth and women are our important target groups. Youth empowerment, gender equality is our horizontal priorities. It is amazing how Mongolian women are strong and full of potential. I have already met quite a few leader women in my two months of time. Unfortunately, for the local elections, I understand that significantly lower number of women are represented.

In Mongolia, 60% of the population is young. On the contrary, in Europe, we have an aging population. During my tenure, I plan to interact with young people, support them and contribute in building a better environment for them to flourish and develop the country in the future.

You mentioned gender equality, right? What do you think about the Mongolian gender equality? 
When I was the Lithuanian Ambassador covering Mongolia from Beijing, I had the opportunity to speak with local women in Selenge who were involved in the project we had with Women for Change to empower local women to participate in politics. I remember we had a very frank conversation about obstacles for them. One is lack of financial resource to run for election. Second  public opinion that usually they don't support women. It’s online shame and blame, public scapegoating of a woman is harsh towards females than males. It is very sad. But it’s not only Mongolia. 

This has to change. We all need to help women to be taken more seriously in the local and national level decision making.  Women play crucial role in running the family and making decision. They can easily do this in the local administration. Because they really know how to run a household, how to count, how to plan, and they can really contribute a lot.

Also my understanding was that during this local election, there was significantly high number of female voters, yet less women was elected. This means we also need to encourage female solidarity. I know the local election regulation was not as strict with quotas.  

We had the similar issues in Europe. However, things are changing. There are more female politicians, ministers, prime ministers and leaders. Especially in Scandinavian countries, we are doing quite well. In forestry, it not only about growing trees but also about people and sustainable management. Why is it about people? Because it's also about creating green and decent jobs to generate income, and diversify the economy in a sustainable manner. Forests are long-term investment.

I think one of the main projects of the EU is a STREAM+ /Sustainable, Resilient Ecosystem and Agriculture Management/ project, right? So, tell us more about this project. 
It is our flagship project under the Forest partnership. First phase of STREAM was successfully implemented by GIZ and FAO between 2021-2024. Second phase of the project, STREAM+ is signed and soon be launched. Now we will cover three provinces, which are Selenge, Khuvsgul and Khentii. The main purpose is to help Mongolia in three sectors. It is forestry, meat value chain and cashmere value chain. We see that Mongolia is strong and has so much potential to develop in these sectors. So, I really see that this pilot project that we had was successful, so I'm sure that STREAM+ will also achieve good results. 

Please give us more information about the effectiveness of the EU’s technical support under the Budget Support Program in the employment sector.
The EU’s Budget Support Programme for Mongolia, amounting to EUR 50.8 million, was designed to elevate Mongolia's budget planning to international standards. Our goal was to assist the government in developing a budget that is not only well-planned but also results-oriented and aligned with key policy priorities. Additionally, we are providing complementary technical assistance to the finance, employment, education and agriculture ministries and local governments (aimags), helping them improve their budgeting processes. For example, we recently organized a competition for budget experts and treasure department officers from different aimags, and the results were impressive. The winners demonstrated excellent budget planning skills, highlighting that effective planning is just as crucial as having sufficient funds. It's about making the best use of the resources available both at national and local levels.

Another key focus of our budget support was the Employment Promotion Fund, which we wanted to activate more effectively. Our aim was to help the government train its workforce and establish employment support centers where people can access details about available jobs. I believe we’ve made significant progress, although there’s still room for improvement. The system is functioning better now, as more people, especially the youth, are aware of how to apply for jobs, where they can be retrained, and which sectors have the greatest demand. 

You mentioned that we have more young generations compared with other countries. And I hope you have already met the young generation and youths of Mongolia.
Yes, absolutely. I went to the World Clean Up day. There were crowds of young people outside the stadium on a Saturday early morning voluntarily and from that I could see that they are very active.  I feel young Mongolians are energetic, open-minded and curious all the time. They all have their stories and dreams. 

Young people need good leaders who can invite them and direct them to something good.  Because they need to put energy somewhere. So, I would think that, there needs to be more indoor and outdoor activities, recreational facilities, a place to spend quality time, for sports and cultural creativity. We need to provide alternatives for them to explore and self-develop. 

What is the approximate budget of EU-funded projects in Mongolia and what areas do they usually focus on?
It's around EUR 150 million for the current projects we have. These are all grants. It is also important to note that the money we give comes from the taxpayers of European Union citizens.  I believe we are one of the biggest donors in Mongolia. 

But then, we also have our Member States, countries like Germany, France, and Italy or Hungary working here. We can speak about the two banks that are very much involved here, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. If you put them altogether, the projects will total up to around EUR 250 million.

We are happy to support and work closely with Mongolia despite the geographical distance. It is such a vibrant democracy and a likeminded country in the heart of Asia, regardless of the geopolitical situation. 

I think there's only one flight to Europe /UB to Frankfurt/. So, is there any possibility of adding more flights?
Currently, it's the only one. Flight to Prague started recently but I understand it will stop during the winter. There are some discussions on possible direct flights to Italy. Flights cannot be going empty. It is very costly. 

We go back to the issues of investment, trade and tourism. We need to work together on this. Promoting tourism on both sides, transparent environment to attract more investment. Businesses and investors like stable, predictable and fair system to work in.  
I know there are some talks about new flights to Italy. But it will come very much interlinked with possibilities to invest and to have more trade and tourism together. So of course, if there are no flights there will be no tourists, but if there are no tourists cannot be flights because simply empty flights are very expensive. So, to get more flights but also to promote Mongolian tourism better and create better conditions for European investors to come here. We had a very productive meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dorjkhand on the issue. 

Changing the laws is bad for foreign investment. Please tell us your opinion about this.
Certainly. Consultation and discussions with businesses is a must. For example, if policy, regulation changes frequently, it will be hard for the businesses and investors to calculate and plan their budget ahead.  Their goal is to profit and benefit both ways. If their budget goes through the roof because of these regular changes, it does not make sense for them to come.  They need to have trust in the system of the host countries to be fair and just, stable and clear for long-term and efficient investment. 
 

Let's continue our conversation about your motherland Lithuania. Tell us about the characteristics of your country, such as population, main economic products, etc.?
Lithuanian population is a little less than Mongolia, around 3 million, while our land is much smaller because we have only 65,000 square kilometers.

But what unites us with Mongolia is the love for basketball. I was pleasantly surprised to see how big basketball is in Mongolia. I went to see 3X3 competition on the Sukhbaatar Square. I plan to see the ongoing upper league playoffs. Mongolian Basketball Federation visited Lithuania to work our Federation to share practices and experience while I was the bilateral Ambassador. 

On the contrary to Mongolia, Lithuania is a country that has no minerals. This has led us to invest in our people and technology. I have seen a big interest from Mongolian tech startups to visit Lithuania to explore the startup environment and exchange knowledge. FinTech, bioscience, cyber security, and e-governance is big in Lithuania. Laser technology is another example. For example, Samsung buys our cutting edge lasers technology in their screen. 

Food-wise, we also eat lots of bread or potatoes.  But what is interesting to me is “boortsog”. We have the Lithuanian version – Žagarėliai. Boortsog is less sweet, and harder dough but the concept is the same. It’s very interesting. By the way, besides boortsog, I love khuushuur. It was the first food to celebrate my presentation of letter of credence to the President just after my arrival. On the side note, you can find several Lithuanian products like cheese and beer in supermarkets here Ulaanbaatar. 

Like Mongolia, Lithuanian culture is very vibrant. We have one of the world’s best female conductor. We have the  International Film Festivals, contemporary dance festival, many music festivals during the summer, also similar to Mongolia, and  Jazz festivals. I am looking forward to all the cultural festivals in Mongolia, like the UBIFF, media art festival and jazz festivals. 

You were the Deputy Minister of Culture of Lithuania. I am interested in your opinion about the cultural sector of our country. There is so much potential and talent in your country. One quick idea I can say is to compliment the tourism with culture.  I see that Mongolia mostly positions itself as nature tourism. But, like I mentioned, Mongolia has a such a vibrant cultural scene. It would be great if it is could compliment the nature and nomadic tourism with modern cultural activities. 

Thank you for your time.