Inaugural Meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary National Working Group of Mongolia and Workshop on SPS Legislation and Implementation

More than 60 participants from Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Customs General Administration, General Agency for Specialized Inspection, border crossing points, local government, ADB, development partners and research institute attended the workshop held alongside the Inaugural Meeting of the SPS NWG of Mongolia
More than 60 participants from Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Customs General Administration, General Agency for Specialized Inspection, border crossing points, local government, ADB, development partners and research institute attended the workshop held alongside the Inaugural Meeting of the SPS NWG of Mongolia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is implementing the Knowledge Support Technical Assistance 9500: Modernizing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures to Facilitate Trade (KSTA 9500) to support CAREC member countries in implementing the CAREC Common Agenda for Modernization of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures for Trade (CAST) endorsed by the 14th Ministerial Conference on CAREC in 2015.

KSTA 9500 is co-funded by the Regional Cooperation and Integration Fund and People’s Republic of China Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund.

CAREC SPS National Working Groups (SPS NWG) are being established as part of the activities of KSTA 9500. Mongolia was the first CAREC member country to establish its SPS National Working Group.

Mongolia’s Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI) Batjargal Batzorig officially endorsed the SPS NWG by government order, dated 10 August 2018.

The SPS NWG is chaired by MoFALI Deputy Minister Janimhan Saule. Members consist of representatives from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mongolian Customs General Administration, General Agency for Specialized Inspection, and General Authority of Veterinary Service.

Janimhan Saule, deputy minister, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia and chairperson of Mongolia's Sanitary and Phytosanitary National Working Group delivered the opening remarks. She underscored the importance of SPS to agriculture and trade, and affirmed the commitment of the SPS NWG to develop national SPS plans and participate in CAREC SPS initiatives
Janimhan Saule, deputy minister, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia and chairperson of Mongolia’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary National Working Group, delivered the opening remarks. She underscored the importance of SPS to agriculture and trade, and affirmed the commitment of the SPS NWG to develop national SPS plans and participate in CAREC SPS initiatives

The General Agency for Specialized Inspection hosted the event.

Alongside the inaugural meeting, a workshop on SPS legislation and implementation was conducted. More than 60 participants from Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Customs General Administration, General Agency for Specialized Inspection, border crossing points, local government, ADB, development partners, and research institute attended.

Outcomes of the workshop include important legislative reforms that must be undertaken to allow Mongolia to adopt international SPS standards, and necessary facility upgrades and capacity building activities for effective implementation of SPS measures at the borders.