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Darkhan City, 25 March 2025 – The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry (MOFALI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mongolia have launched a project to support the White Gold Initiative Platform by signing a Project Initiation Plan today. This initiative will support a platform to drive coordinated, multi-stakeholder action to implement the White Gold Initiative—a national programme aimed at strengthening Mongolia’s wool, cashmere, and leather industries through sustainable production, value addition, and climate-resilient practices.
The new intervention, as part of the efforts to align the livestock sector with Mongolia’s climate adaptation and green economic transition goals, will focus on promoting policy coherence, improving traceability and product quality, expanding high-value exports, and unlocking innovative financing to support industry growth and resilience.
“Today’s signing is a testament to our commitment to a more sustainable and competitive future for Mongolia’s livestock sector,” said His Excellency Mr. Enkhbayar Jadamba, Member of Parliament, Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry of Mongolia. “Through the White Gold Initiative Platform, we aim to build a robust, climate-resilient, and internationally competitive sector that empowers our herders, protects our natural resources, and adds value within our borders.”
The cashmere, wool, and leather sector is Mongolia’s second-largest export industry, generating up to USD 350 million annually and supporting over 190,000 herder households. However, its future is increasingly threatened by land degradation, insufficient processing capacity, limited investment, and fragmented coordination among stakeholders.
“The White Gold Initiative is a strategic priority for Mongolia’s long-term sustainable development. It brings together economic competitiveness, rural livelihoods, and climate resilience—three pillars critical to our national vision. Through this multi-stakeholder platform, we are committed to ensuring that policy, innovation, and investment work hand in hand to transform Mongolia’s livestock sector into a global model for sustainability and value creation,” said Mr. Davaadalai Batsuuri, Economic and Industrial Policy Advisor to the President of Mongolia.
To address these challenges, the White Gold Initiative Platform will coordinate efforts across government, private sector, herder cooperatives, financial institutions, and development partners. It will focus on four pillars: strengthening legal and policy frameworks; improving raw material quality and traceability; boosting production, trade, and market access; and closing gaps in technical capacity and sustainable finance.
“The White Gold Initiative represents not only an economic opportunity, but also a national commitment to inclusive and sustainable development. By bringing all stakeholders together to support its implementation —from government and herders to private industry and international partners—we can unlock the full potential of Mongolia’s natural resources while protecting its ecosystems and lifting rural communities” said Ms. Matilda Dimovksa, UNDP Resident Representative in Mongolia.
The platform builds on lessons from UNDP’s Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform and will be governed by a Steering Committee which will be led by the Economic and Industrial Policy Advisor to the President of Mongolia and co-chaired by MOFALI and UNDP. It is designed to evolve into a self-sustaining national mechanism that fosters innovation, improves livelihoods, and ensures Mongolia remains a global leader in sustainable livestock-based production.
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About UNDP
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For further inquiries:
Erdenesukh Otgonbayar | Communications Analyst | UNDP in Mongolia | erdenesukh.otgonbayar@undp.org
