Friendship project funded by the European Union, has been implemented in Darkhan-Uul Province since 2021 among the cities of Central Asian countries. One of the goals of the project is the concept of partnership for sustainable cities. According to this concept, the first forum of smart cities is being organized to jointly discuss the faced problems in Darkhan-Uul. The forum is jointly organized by the government, the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, the Friendship Project of the EU, Darkhan-Uul Province Governor’s Office and Darkhan soum Governor’s Office.
Darkhan-Uul Province’s governor B.Azjargal said in his speech, “I am sure that through the forum, the law on the legal status of cities and villages will be effective in discussing what to pay attention to and what changes to make in the future development of cities.” He also said it is a special forum that provides an opportunity to exchange opinions and share experiences.
In connection, workers of the Friendship project and Ministry of Digital Development and Communications did study on how to make Darkhan-Uul sustainable city. Leader of the Friendship project P.Mend-Amgalan emphasized that as a result of the research, Darkhan city has become a smart city and developed as a model for the country.
In addition, Chief Cabinet Secretariat D.Amarbayasgalan attended the forum, in which he presented policy and process of “New Revival Policy” and Countryside Survival Policy. He said, “The government is working to lower the mortgage interest rate to three percent in local area, increase the salary of the local public administration employee between 20 and 100 percent based on the results, bring the mineral deposits into the economic cycle in the local area, and the donations provided by the mining enterprises in the local area to focus on local development, creating legal regulations to ensure citizens’ participation, providing tax benefits under the Corporate Income Tax Law, moving factories and warehouses from the capital city to the local area, creating new real estate in the local area, and tax support for enterprises increasing the number of jobs.”
In addition to the governors and soum governors of 21 provinces of Mongolia, mayors, policy specialists and experts who develop policies and implement projects for smart city strategic plans, concepts, and security in European Union such as Turkey, Montenegro, Poland, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia participated.
