Mongolia: Problems and opportunities

I have just arrived in Mongolia. I have already a lot to tell you about the life there and everything but let me first sum up a little bit what I have understood of the situation there, and what are the challenges this country is facing.

Mongolia is the less dense country in the world. It is big as western Europe (France+Spain+Germany+Portugal+Switzerland) but only as many inhabitants as in Chicago city. Its population used to be nomad and it is only recently that cities have developed. And when I say citi"es", certainly Ulaan Battar where more than half of the population of the country is leaving is the only one you would call "city" in a western perspective.

The territory is full of raw material. Principally copper and coal, but also gold. Lots of foreign mning companies have come there, many locals were created, and since the demand for raw material is high, it is an easy way to make money.

So that is a chance for Mongolia, but also a big problem. First, environmental problem. As you might know, mining industries are very polluting. For a country which traditional activities are herding and agriculture, that is something they are not ready to accept. Mongolian are a very democratic and environment friendly people, and they will not accept to have it destroyed.

Besides, the mining industry is a resources and brain drainer. The salary are high, the needs are huge. So most talented young people are tempted to go and work for this sector. Besides, to exploit raw material, you need infrastructures (road, energy,...) that the country does not have yet.
So the temptation would be to devote all human and financial resources to optimize the mining. But very cleverly, Mongolian wants to avoid that. There are the examples of Nigeria or Zimbabwe, 2 countries which had a lot of natural resources and have not managed to use it as a development opportunity. Also most of minerals are exported towards Russia and China. Mongolia is very dependent of these 2 countries particularly since it is a "land-locked" country (have no access to the sea), and because of historical considerations (Mongolia was under the rule of China then Russia) this situation is not pleasant for them.

So with a lot of ambition, they would like to imitate low-populated country like Singapore, Sweden or Israel, who have developed and economy based on knowledge and innovation. Let's be clear, they are very far of being able to do it, but since there is cash flowing, why not investing on education?

I'll let you know more about that.