Both side had extensive negotiations on where and how to use the LoC and concluded a framework agreement. We have decided to use the LoC in the fields of railways, agriculture, processing industry, oil refinery and relevant institutions are working out their proposals and projects in intensive manner. We hope within this very year actual works would start on site.

Mongolia has vast tourism potential and has some amazing lakes. It has the potential for winter tourism as well. Please talk us through these potentials…

Mongolia was named as the most ethical travels destination for 2016. It obviously meant not only avoid spending own hard earned money in places with poor human rights and environmental records but also encourage those exert an effort to live on decent manner. May be that’s why Mongolians say “It is always better to see once through own eyes than to hear other’s saying many times”.

Mongolia, I assume, is the most sparsely populated landlocked country with four distinct seasons. Altai-Khanghai mountain ranges with eternally snow-capped peaks and glaciers comprise two third of its land, which is roughly three times France or nearly as big as half of India.

The mountainous areas include wet meadow pastures and seemingly endless steppe. It has thousands of lakes and rivers and elevated on about 4500 ft. above the sea level so sun shines bright some 300 days a year. Though annual perspiration is merely 224 mm, rainfall in the months of July and August is enough to swell the rivers, all but one feed the Lake Baikal in Siberia. Majority of open grasslands with fertile soil in transition with arid lands are to be found in the Gobi Desert. Winter continues from November to April with frequent snow blizzards followed by windy but amazingly refreshing spring. Thus, summer and autumn even winter and spring are ideal for adventure tourism.

Nearly one tenth of Mongolia is forest that lies mainly in the northern region. It supports wolf, wild boar, elk, moose, deer, caribou, antelope and brown bear. Remote mountains support wild cats such as lynx and snow leopard while the steppes and forest margins support marmot, muskrat, fox, steppe fox and sable. Hence, it is paradise for hunters furnished with license. Mongolia is home of wild ass, wild camel, wild sheep and also nocturnal yellow Gobi bear (mazaalai). The wild horse (takhi) is being reintroduced from captive herds in Holland and Czech Republic at Khustai sanctuary. These turned Mongolia indeed a conducive itinerary for eco-tourism.

Bird life is rich and includes golden eagle, bearded vulture and other birds of prey while the lakes are magnet for water birds including storks and even herring gull and relict gull even from India. The 2000 lakes support 50 species of fish unique to Mongolia. Hunters and fly-fishers are thirsty coming there for replenish their trophies.

Throughout centuries Mongolians have been engaging with pastoral animal husbandry, which intrinsically interwoven with their nomadic life style. Even today nearly 40 per cent of households look after nearly sixty million heads of sheep, goat, horse, camel and cows that turned into distinct attraction for urban hibernators from near and far. As a travel destination Mongolia enthralls the visitors with its picturesque natural sceneries, variegated landscapes, vast open steppes, pale ontological and historical heritages blended with nomadic life style and culture of the natives which adding amazing twist. One can enjoy leisure tourism like horse riding, bird watching, hiking hunting and fishing.