Speeches
“US-Mongolia Relations: Looking Forward, Looking Back” Opening of American Center for Mongolia Studies University of Wisconsin at Madison
Ambassador Designate to Mongolia, Jonathan Addleton
Many thanks for the opportunity to provide a few informal remarks at this important event – the official opening of the American Center for Mongolia Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
I was especially delighted when the invitation to participate recently arrived for at least three reasons.
First, it provides an opportunity to return to Madison after too many years away. As an undergraduate at Northwestern many years ago, I had several friends studying Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin and visited them from time to time. I also spent a summer in Madison – not studying or doing research or writing papers, but earning money for college by painting houses. Madison is a terrific place to live and I have fond memories of the three months that I spent here – mostly having fun.
Second, it involves Mongolia. It is no exaggeration to say that the three years that I previously spent in Mongolia marked one of the highlights of my Foreign Service career – and now, as a family, we are delighted at this unexpected opportunity to return. The fact is, we quickly developed a fascination for Mongolia and a love for the open steppe, visiting each of Mongolia’s provinces at least once. As I often remark, my initial posting in Mongolia with USAID is the only one I’ve had where my travel voucher after a long trip into the countryside was as likely to include the notation “camped by a river” as to attach the usual hotel bill. As you can appreciate, this type of situation doesn’t happen too often in the Foreign Service!
Beyond that, though, this visit provides a welcome opportunity for me to learn more about Mongolia as I prepare to embark on this new assignment. Among other things, that includes an appreciation for some of the important and rapid changes that have taken place during the last several years that I have been away. A number of people in this room already know as much about Mongolia as I could hope to learn in a lifetime and I look forward to the opportunity to interact further and learn more, both in this session and more informally afterwards.
And, third, it involves engagement with one of a growing network of American Centers around the world. I noticed with interest that your “sister organizations” include similar Centers focused on Pakistan, Jordan and Yemen – Centers with which I am already quite familiar and with which I have interacted in positive ways over the past many years. I look forward to similar involvement in Mongolia in the future. The accumulation of knowledge and the opportunity for interaction between Mongolians and Americans who are seriously engaged in academic dialogue and research is vital in strengthening and deepening the enduring relationship between our two countries, both now and in the years to come.
* * * * *
Now let me quickly turn to the subject of today’s discussion. I have titled these informal remarks “US-Mongolia Relationships: Looking Forward, Looking Back” partly because there is a personal aspect to them. As I mentioned, it was my privilege to have previously worked with USAID in Mongolia for three years, from 2001 to 2004. And, on November 9, I will be officially sworn in as Ambassador to Mongolia, proceeding to Ulaanbaatar shortly thereafter.
At a time like this, I can’t help but be reflective about both my past encounters with Mongolia and the challenges that lie ahead. In this context, the philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkeaard’s well known statement that “life must be lived forward but understood backwards” is perhaps as applicable to institutions and countries as to individuals. In a very important way, even while we look toward the future it is important to also take time to reflect on the successes, failures and “lessons learned” of the past. Put another way, we can’t really understand where we are going unless we also have some sense for where we have been.
Several weeks ago, in remarks prepared for my Senate hearings, I commented that, if confirmed as ambassador, I would look forward to working to strengthen the US-Mongolia relationship in five main areas: (1) development; (2) private investment; (3) democracy and good governance; (4) security; and (5) people-to-people relationships. Statements made in that hearing figure quite prominently in the rest of my comments, albeit with significant amplification along with some observations of a more personal kind.
Let me start with the area that I am most immediately familiar with--development. Until the arrival of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) a couple of years ago, the US rarely if ever ranked as one of the two or three largest donors in Mongolia; that role was for the most part assumed by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Japan.
However, US development institutions have worked closely with Mongolian counterparts, making an important difference over the years. In the early 1990s, that meant providing emergency energy assistance that kept the Ulaanbaatar power plant in operation through several bleak winters; in the late 1990s, that meant helping to shape Mongolia’s sometimes difficult but ultimately successful move toward democracy and a market economy; and, more recently, that has meant playing a useful role in strengthening legal reform, promoting tourism, supporting small business development and strengthening the financial sector – including through helping to establish Xaas Bank and revitalize Xaan Bank.
Let me quickly mention the Xaan Bank story as one of the most successful development partnerships that I have ever witnessed. It is a story that should be more widely known, especially when people question whether development initiatives can ever be effective or make a difference. Less than a decade ago, Xaan Bank, then known as the Agricultural Bank of Mongolia, was essentially bankrupt. The situation at the time is perhaps captured in a short comment from a World Bank assessment, which basically said that “the only thing that can be done about this bank is to shut it down”.
However, realizing that it depended on the bank to pay civil service salaries and extend credit to the countryside, the Government of Mongolia approached USAID, requesting that we provide a management team that was tasked with first “saving” it and then “transforming” it. Over the next three years, this is exactly what happened. Confounding the skeptics, Xaan Bank was in fact turned into a highly successful institution, expanding its strong rural presence while also introducing innovative new programs that allowed it to contribute significantly to Mongolia’s tax base rather than becoming an ever-larger drain on the Mongolian national economy.
Parenthetically, along the way Xaan Bank also introduced new information technology, expanded the number of branches, hired new staff, raised salaries, appointed significant number of women as bank managers and pioneered innovative new cultural programs, including acquiring and maintaining what is very possibly one of the best private collections of contemporary Mongolian art anywhere.
In retrospect, it was successes like this that in more recent years made Mongolia a prime candidate for the Millennium Challenge Account, a program that I expect will remain as an important aspect of the US-Mongolia development partnership during my upcoming tenure in Ulaanbaatar.
MCC include transport, health, technical education and the environment—all important areas that are priority sectors for Mongolia as well. The MCC is structured to support forward-looking initiatives as well as governments that demonstrate a strong commitment to reform. It also makes significant additional grant resources available during a relatively short but critical time in a nation’s development. For obvious reasons, I will be following the work of both USAID and MCC in Mongolia with considerable interest in the years ahead.
An interest in private sector investment flows naturally from an interest in development. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that the two are closely linked; undoubtedly, the best hopes for development in Mongolia will remain unrealized unless it is also accompanied by the expansion of a vibrant private sector, one that promotes economic diversity, creates jobs, expands incomes and contributes to a growing national tax base that in turn is needed to strengthen and deliver needed social services in health, education and other areas.
In significant part, the ability of any private sector to thrive hinges on the government’s success in creating a level playing field, one that recognizes the vital role that fairness, stability and transparency plays in promoting entrepreneurship and giving Mongolians the incentive needed to invest in their own country.
Foreign investment, too, can make an important contribution, especially in a country like Mongolia, with its vast resources but small population. In this regard, I have no doubt that American companies are well positioned to offer experience as well as unique expertise, including in areas that are of special importance to Mongolia such as environmentally friendly mining practices and “green” approaches to natural resource development.
Mongolia’s significant mineral resources, combined with its proximity to Asian markets in China and beyond, represent a tremendous asset. Here, too, transparency and fairness are vital ingredients in ensuring ultimate success. Yet the sobering truth is that the world is littered with examples of resource-rich economies that all too often fail.
The relative successes—three countries that one might be tempted to cite in this regard include Botswana in Africa, Malaysia in Asia and Norway in Europe—are all too few in number. However, they potentially do offer important “lessons learned” as the people and government of Mongolia seek the best of international experience to help shape their own future. And here, too, the U.S. has useful examples to offer, including the historical experience of Alaska, a sparsely populated but resource rich area that has had to maintain a sometimes difficult balance among a range competing concerns, including natural resource development, environmental issues, sustainability and the interests of local populations.
The recent Oyu Tolgoi signing represents important progress as well as potential on that front. Negotiations were handled in an open, fair manner and the two lead foreign firms bring best industry practices to the table while simultaneously stimulating the economy and creating jobs. Tavan Tolgoi presents similar opportunities, especially given the interest of firms such as US-based Peabody that have significant experience in managing natural resources efficiently and effectively, are sensitive to environmental concerns and tie that development to broader economic growth.
To an important degree, the future of Mongolia’s private sector in turn rests on achieving success in a third area that is vital to the US-Mongolian partnership, namely that of democracy and good governance. Intriguingly, during a recent presentation at the OECD in Paris, Paul Collier, author of “The Bottom Billion,” who has written extensively and sometimes very critically about the role of international development institutions around the world, highlighted governance in particular as one of THE central issues facing any country that is rich in resources but may lack the skills, experience and commitment needed to use them wisely.
In Collier’s words, “what separates the successes from the failures is governance”. He goes on to suggest that “above a threshold of governance, countries harness commodity revenues for long term development, while below it they go from boom to bust.” In his view, sustainable development hinges on several important elements that are difficult, challenging and require a long term approach—but, at the same time, are essential in order for a resource rich economy to be successful. These include strengthening human capacity, building effective institutions and promoting an informed public. Looking ahead, the challenges facing Mongolia during the coming years are enormous – but so is the potential reward.
As I noted in my Senate hearings a few weeks ago, it was during the early 1990s that Mongolia broke from the past, making the decisive choice to embark on a different path and pursue democracy. The country’s most recent presidential election in May serve as but one milestone in a long and continuing journey that, for all its many challenges, has not only met with success but also provides an important example for others in the region. The United States has been—and will continue to be—a consistent and supportive partner in that journey. In the past, we have been able to dialogue honestly and effectively on a wide range of issues related to democracy and good governance, including corruption, parliamentary development, electoral processes and civil society, to name only a few. Looking ahead, I welcome opportunities for further engagement on these and other issues, all of which are closely linked to both good governance and more effective democratic institutions.
Security is a fourth area of US-Mongolia interest, both in the past and in the future. Indeed, there is little doubt that an independent and prosperous Mongolia makes a useful and important contribution to stability in Asia and beyond. It sometimes comes as a surprise when I mention to friends and colleagues in the United States that Mongolian military units have joined international efforts as far afield as Iraq and Afghanistan, Kosovo and Sierra Leone and, most recently, Chad. As Mongolian leaders across the political spectrum have affirmed, Mongolia’s long term security lies in part in being a productive and respected partner within the broader international community. The fact that Mongolian soldiers have already served with honor and distinction in a series of difficult assignments abroad only adds to this gratitude and respect.
Finally, let me emphasize another theme that is also well reflected in the statement that I submitted to the Senate earlier this year, namely that durable long-term relationships are necessarily rooted in the ways in which peoples and cultures interact with each other, learn from each other and respect each other.
The Peace Corps is one obvious example. Indeed, there is at least one returned Peace Corps volunteer from Mongolia here today—Brian White, the U.S. Director of the American Center for Mongolian Studies who welcomed me to Madison earlier today.
During my prior assignment in Mongolia, I often ran into Peace Corps volunteers in the countryside and was invariably impressed with their commitment as well as their resilience and contributions. Just as impressive is what some volunteers do afterwards, building on their experience of Mongolia to make contributions in any number of other ways, including through their work with USAID, NGOs and private business. Looking ahead, I will do what I can to strengthen still further the Peace Corps engagement with Mongolia, an engagement that already represents, on a per capita basis, one of the largest Peace Corps contingents in the world.
There are other examples, too, of Americans and Mongolians—motivated by a broad spectrum of civic, cultural, spiritual and scientific interests—interacting in any number of ways. And this interaction is by no means simply a one-way smautreet, solely involving Americans living and working in Mongolia. On the contrary, growing Mongolian communities in the United States in places like California, Colorado and Virginia further strengthen the US-Mongolia relationship. Over the long term, such connections ensure that the US-Mongolia partnership is not simply based on “official,” government-to-government contacts but is also rooted in more personal ties that are durable and lasting.
The person-to-person aspect of our relationship is further strengthened by the growing number of Mongolians choosing to study in the United States, either through scholarships or using their own resources. An expanded Fulbright program can make an important contribution. Our Fulbright program has doubled since 2005 and we are working to increase the number of scholarships even further, in addition to our other exchange programs.
More broadly, the experience of Mongolian students in the US and their eventual return to Mongolia can and often does have a transformative effect. Viewed from a long term perspective, it is not hard to make the case that an investment in education is one of the best investments that any individual or society can make. I am also pleased to see the growing number of official partnerships between American and Mongolian universities, including cooperation on research projects and the exchange of students and scholars.
The official opening of the American Center for Mongolian Studies in Madison also very much reflects the importance of long-term, person-to-person relationships as well as the fact that a lasting partnership is ultimately based on the willingness of both sides to truly learn from each other. The fact that the Center supports a wide range of research in any number of fields is especially heartening.
On the American side, I have no doubt that the emergence of branches of the Center in both the US and Mongolia will help build a cadre of Americans who really do understand Mongolia. The American Center for Mongolia Studies office in Mongolia is already playing an important role by assisting the research activities of American students and researchers, including our American Fulbright scholars. On the Mongolian side, a similar dynamic will also be at work. In the end, the range of programs, the breadth of exchanges and the opportunities for research and interaction will further strengthen US-Mongolian relationships, lending real depth and substance to our interactions in any number of areas.
In closing, let me once again express my appreciation for the opportunity to be here this evening—my first “official” external event as ambassador designate to Mongolia. As I prepare to depart for Ulaanbaatar, let me also take the opportunity to publicly affirm that I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to represent my country in Mongolia; that I appreciate the interest that Mongolians have shown for the United States; that I am gratified at the growing interest among Americans for Mongolia in all its many aspects; and that, for my part, I am committed to doing everything within my power to strengthen and expand relations between our two countries in the months and years ahead.
Thank you and now I will be happy to answer any questions.