On Tuesday the World Bank Mongolia and seven other countries from East Asia and the Pacific Region participated in a video conference and introduced recent findings on the East Asian and Pacific Region’s economies.

As for Mongolia, the report stated that high economic growth continued this year. Between January and August 2006, real gross industrial output increased by 32 percent compared to the corresponding period for last year.

The main drivers of industrial growth were manufacturing products, in particularly beverages (32 percent), textiles (31 percent) and the minerals sector (36 percent) according to the above report.

Overall GDP growth is projected to be around seven percent in 2006, with the main contributions coming from manufacturing, livestock and services sectors respectably.

“In fact, the Mongolian economic indices for this year have also improved from the export of products’ from agriculture and mining. However those two sectors are directly dependent on nature and weather and the price of mining products on the world market, but the Mongolian government is pursuing a policy to develop other industries,” Enkhbayar, an Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister, said on Tuesday following the video conference.

Other economists present also advocated reinvesting Mongolia’s economic growth into its economy to produce more final products in attempts to boost international trade.

“We should study other neighboring countries markets, all except for China. For example, we need to increase the exports of final products to Russia and Kazakhstan before we plan to export to the world market. Even though this is the work of the private sector, the government should make policies related to it,” said Sh. Alatntsetseg, World Bank Mongolia’s economist.

“Mongolia should spend and invest in the education sector with the money from the windfall profits tax on gold and copper under the advice from the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Region’s development. But unfortunately the government is spending this money on social care. We should prepare very good professionals who can meet with the demands of the markets,” said Khashchuluun, Director of the School of Economy at the National University of Mongolia.

According to the biannual East Asia and Pacific Regional Update Report strong economic growth in East Asia helped lift some 25 million people out of severe poverty in the first three quarters of 2006.