 Good morning. My name is Andrew McIntyre. I'm Dean of the College of Asia and Pacific here. Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, the Nungalwal people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present. It's a great pleasure to have people here joining us for this first Mongolia update. Let me welcome, because we've got people not just from the university community here with us today, but people from across the lake, from other cities, and let me especially welcome people who've come here, of course, from Mongolia today. This is quite a special initiative for the university. As many of you will know, this is the largest collection of scholars dedicated to work on the Asia Pacific region in any major research university in the English-speaking world. And people know us for our big concentrations on work on Indonesia, on Papua New Guinea in the Pacific, on China, Japan, India. People don't know us yet as much for our work on Mongolia. And what we're signalling here today is that we're making a stand on Mongolia. That the university is getting behind this and supporting, on an ongoing basis, scholarly inquiry into those sorts of issues relating to Mongolia's past, present and future. A first step in this direction was the establishment of our Mongolia Institute just recently. A next step in this direction is this inaugural Mongolia update. And there are more things coming. For example, we are now committing to offer Mongolian language. As anyone who knows anything about the business of universities, and in particular the business of language instruction, it's really expensive. We're doing this, we can make this possible through some creative work of colleagues of mine in collaboration with our counterparts at Indiana University in the United States that has significant expertise in Mongolia and Mongolian, and we're doing some collaboration with them to make this possible. There are there's all sorts of things one could say about the exciting program that's ahead of you today, but I won't burn up time on that. It's a strong mix of speakers and a great mix of topics. But what I should do is pay tribute to a number of people who've played a key role in making this possible. In particular, I'd like to acknowledge his excellency, Mr. Upton Bold, the ambassador for Mongolia, who will be speaking to you in just a moment. Ambassadors, high commissioners are often important for events like this, but I'd like to pay particular tribute to Mr. Bold, both for material support that the embassy has given to this update and material support for our introduction of an intensive Mongolian language program in our summer school program, but more broadly for, I guess, his leadership, energy and and activism around the Canberra community and engaging with the universities and others in bringing Mongolia just more and more into the collective consciousness of this city and this country and the wider discussions of regional affairs. So particular tribute to Ambassador Bold. I'd also like to acknowledge others who have contributed resources, financial resources to make today's update possible. Our School of Culture, History and Language, our Crawford School of Public Policy, two of the schools that make up this this big college of Asia and the Pacific and the college itself have all put in resources to make this possible. So thank you to all of them. But if I was to single any one person out for special tribute, it would be my colleague, Professor Lee Narongoa. If it wasn't for Narra, this just wouldn't be happening. There's lots of people like me that say, Would that be good to have an initiative on Mongolia or this, that or the other thing? It takes someone like Narra to really pick up an idea and run with it and put in their personal time and energy, inject their own individual, intellectual vision for it and to build the networks and the alliances and the collaborations that are needed to bring people together. So I particularly want to thank Professor Lee, pay tribute to her and on your behalf, wish her great success, not just in making today go well, but in keeping this whole venture pushing forward. I mean, deans can be useful in the background, clearing a bit of obstacles and that sort of thing. But you need individual academic leadership for something like this to work. And Narra, we're grateful to you for it. Let me stop there, otherwise I just go on and on with propaganda. And let me invite Ambassador Upton Bald to also make some opening remarks. Ambassador. Thank you, Andrew, for your nice words. I'm the Bald, my name is the Bald. The new ambassador to Mongolia to Australia. Bald means not this one, but Bald means strong and steel. So good morning, everybody. Let me express my deep appreciation to the Australian National University, particularly to the School of Asian Pacific, Dr. Andrew McFanty, as well as to the School of the the history, language and the culture to the professor, Dr. Professor Breacher, Villal and other prominent people from the Australian National University who make possible today's our first ever conference Mongolia update. It's a wonderful opportunity for us to promote and advocate Mongolia throughout Australia. The Mongolia Institute, as Andrew mentioned, was impossible without Professor Narangwa. So my deep salute to Professor Narangwa and the behalf of our delegation who come to this conference. And thank you so much for your contribution. Yes, and the bilateral relations between Mongolia and Australia is growing faster in the last couple of years. And last year, the Mongolian Prime Minister visited Australia for first time and we made for first time the bilateral joint statement which said, Mongolia and Australia, we had the common strategic interests in the Asia Pacific region, namely the stability and the sustainability. So it's very important points. So far, the two countries emphasised on the development of the bilateral relations in the three basic areas. First is education, then agriculture, then mining. Now we're going to add to this three basic cooperation. The fourth one is peacekeeping field, peacekeeping operation. Yes, and second half of the 2012 was very rich in the bilateral relations, too. In the end of August, the large number of the Australian parliamentarians visited Mongolia, led by the independent member of the parliament, Windsor, all the five members of Australian parliament visited us. Then the Honourable Bob Khan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia visited Mongolia. In the middle of September, we celebrated the 40-year anniversary of the establishment of official relations between Mongolia and Australia. The two Prime Ministers exchanged very good, strong greetings which indicated that both sides are very energetic to put forward our bilateral relations. And just in the last week, we finished a first-ever visit of the chief of the Mongolian armed forces to Australia. Also, we agreed, as I mentioned, to start a cooperation in the peacekeeping field between our two countries. And what is an agenda of the ambassador to Mongolia to Australia? Yes, we are thinking a lot of things. For instance, we are thinking to start a possible chat-of-flight by the Qantas from Australia to Mongolia and back to Australia. We are already talking about this one. Second also, we are looking for the opportunity to help the bilateral Mongolian-Australian-Australian-Mongolian business council to be established. Also, we are looking for the next year to have the festival, the biggest exhibition overseas by Mongolian traditional museum called Zan Bazar, be opened in Sydney in November of next year. It will be the last three months, which will bring from Mongolia, Mongolia will consist of the very unique items. So we hope we will be able to run this exhibition in the next year. Also, the companies based in the western Australia state are looking far to organize the biggest Mongolian day in the next year in the Perth and the western Australia because of this mining movement in the above countries. So there are a lot of things in the agenda, but we need the big efforts to do. Then I would like also to point out at least four points which our Mongolia Update Conference concites. First is, Australian interest in Mongolia is growing very much. So far, according to Mongolian statistics, at least 95 Australian companies are registered in Mongolia as investors. So far, they made around 85 million US dollars investment in the Mongolian economy. I am not counting the real-time investment which is around 2 billion US dollars investment. Also, the most Australian who are interested in Mongolia looking for some business opportunity, looking for some business partner are growing very much. In the last year, 4600 Australians visited Mongolia and according to the statistics this year and the first 10 months of this year over 5,000 Australians already visited Mongolia so far. So we have very great potential which is not attached in the bilateral relations. So the question is we are ready to embrace these Australian growing interest in Mongolia. So probably this question will be answered by our colleagues who just arrived yesterday from Mongolia. Secondly, the changes are taking place in the Mongolia's external environment. Now we have the new leadership in Russia and now we are going to have the new leadership in China and we expect somehow the new approach from our two neighbours to the Mongolian government and the Mongolian question. So how we should keep on in these new circumstances our neighbour policy and the feather. The next point is just the Australian government. Two weeks ago the Australian Prime Minister launched the new White Paper called Australian Asian Century. It's just the Asian community received so well this White Paper. Many Asian leadership countries are very excited about this new launch of the White Paper because Asia is not only ready to embrace Australia but Asia is already with Australia for many times. Now Australia's good news is considering itself as part of the Asia Pacific region finally. And then the next point is just June of this year that we had the new election in Mongolia so the result of the formation of the new government. And next year also we will have the presidential election very soon also we will have the local election in Mongolia so a lot of elections and a lot of questions and a lot of expectations. Then many people approached me saying uncertainty in Mongolia and what happened to the Sarah Armstrong Australian citizen. Frankly say now I had it but just I'm scared now to turn the pages of newspaper in the morning last two weeks frankly say. So the many, many questions will be answered I hope also to bite our colleagues. Just last week Mr. Smith, the CEO of the ANZ Bank told me in Melbourne when we met the ANZ Bank is ready to open its office in Mongolia but when tell me Ambassador when I'm going to office when your uncertainty is gone his question like this. So many, many business community asked me such questions but what mean uncertainty? There is some gap between the understanding regarding the uncertainty in Australia and Mongolia so probably our colleagues also will answer these questions to you. And finally I cannot miss to point out a number of points. First the Australian National University is one of the place in the world of the Mongolian studies and we have to salute to the doctor Igor Rakavits who is one of the founding members of the international Mongolian studies in the world who used to work at the Australian National University who is still there. Second is the Mongolia Institute was launched is very good news for us so it's first year at the conference Mongolian update it's not last one it's why the Embassy will do its best just to cooperate with the Mongolia Institute so taking this opportunity also let me make a statement that the Embassy will provide the Mongolia Institute the next year with the first small contribution 10,000 Australian dollars to promote its activity in the next year, yes so I'm happy to make an announcement to the professor and I don't worry about this one. And finally thank you so much for your attendance at this conference and I hope it will get a good time today and after the conference I invite all of you to join the small reception and a cocktail drinking if you survive the whole conference. Thank you.