GIZ SRECA is supporting the Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) Mongolian Focal Points since 2011. Within this cooperation GIZ SRECA organised several regular meetings and trainings for GTI Mongolian Focal Points (FPs). As a direct result of these events, the Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA) developed and introduced the project proposal on “Promotion of SMEs‘ Production by enhancing GTI members and the implementation of inward and outward processing procedures” to the GTI Customs Sub Committee in 2019. The project proposal was approved by all GTI member countries and was supposed to start being implemented in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, implementation is currently on hold.
However, during the pandemic, SRECA continues to facilitate activities for GTI Mongolian FPs, using social media platforms and online tools. The activities aim to further strengthen Mongolian integration into regional economic integration processes in Northeast Asia. This time, a series of online training on “Project writing skills within the GTI framework” for GTI Mongolian FPs was organised successfully on 11, 13 and 20 May 2020. About 22 officers from the MCGA and the Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) under the Security Council of Mongolia participated in the online training.
The “APPLICATIO Training & Management GmbH” was commissioned by SRECA to conduct the online training. In close cooperation with SRECA staff in Mongolia, project writing techniques as well as advice and follow-up coaching in English and Mongolian were given. In the course of the training, MCGA and ISS developed several project proposal drafts including “Single window system”, “Exchange trade information via online approaches”, “Cooperation among cross-border inspection organisations of neighbouring countries”, “Pre-decisions on goods”, “Survey on GTI economic advantages” and “GTI Governance”.
In the future, SRECA will continue to further cooperate with the GTI Mongolian FPs for promoting regional cooperation with GTI member countries while focusing on Mongolian capacity development to strengthen Mongolian driven regional projects under the GTI framework.