By Marwa Rashad
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Mongolia expects to sign green hydrogen and renewable energy agreements with Saudi Arabia worth several billion dollars over the next few months and is in talks with the United Arab Emirates for similar investments, the country’s deputy prime minister told Reuters.
Rich in deposits of copper and coking coal, Mongolia is positioning itself as an emerging provider of critical minerals in an attempt to attract foreign investors and advance renewable energy development.
It has announced 14 mega-infrastructure, energy and connectivity projects that would require investments worth $15-30 billion.
“With Saudi’s ACWA Power there is a 10-gigawatt renewable energy project, then there is a possibility of a $5 billion green hydrogen project,” Togmidyn Dorjkhand, said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“We’re trying to move as quickly as possible… we expect to sign in the next few months,” he added.
Mongolia was also working on finalising new railway connections with China to proceed with exporting coking coal to India. A discussion on the issue was expected to conclude this month, Dorjkhand said.
He added that his country was in talks with Australian mining giant Rio Tinto to settle tax claims.
Media reports earlier this week said that Rio Tinto had offered the Mongolian government $295 million to settle a long-running tax dispute over the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.
Dorjkhand said the Rio project was one of the best examples of foreign investment in Mongolia and the two sides were cooperating closely to resolve the tax issue.
“Some procedure will take place, and hopefully it will be resolved soon. That’s my expectation,” he added.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Alex Richardson)
