May
14th, 2003
Mongolian Ambassador to the United States
Visits Nippon Kan from Washington DC
Mongolian
Ambassador Ravdan Bold and General Consul to Mongolia Gonchig Seseer and their party
visited Nippon Kan on May 14th. They were here in Denver 
to
visit with leaders of the Denver Mongolian community which happens to be one of the largest
Mongolian communities in the United States. During the meeting held at Nippon Kan, the
Ambassador discussed current topics of concern for Mongolians in their native land.
For
three years concurrently Mongolia has faced severe winter conditions which have resulted
in the deaths of over 100,000 livestock. This spring, the nomadic peoples of Mongolia in
fear of another harsh winter, have resorted to slaughtering their animals early for trade,
in order not to lose them without merit to the frozen tundra. This has resulted in an unbalanced
supply and demand for meat products on local markets. Another serious concern for the Mongolian
people is the 
epidemic
spread of the SARS Virus from China into Mongolia. In an effort to control the spread of
SARS, borders between Mongolia and China have been closed, stopping not only travelers
but trade goods as well. This has had a tremendous effect on the livelyhood of bazaar merchants
and local tradesmen in Ulaanbaatar who have been put basically out of business by the trade
halt. The tourism industry has also felt negative effects from the fear of the SARS virus.
After
the opening meeting, Homma led the delegation on a tour of the Nippon Kan facility, Mongolian
ger (traditional Mongolian nomadic housing), museum and 
gardens.
This tour was followed by a Welcome Dinner, prepared by Homma Kancho and his staff and
served in the Nippon Kan gardens. During dinner, current Nippon Kan projects in Mongolia
were discussed. A plan for a 2003 “In the Steps of the Founder” tour of Mongolia
has been postponed until health and economic issues are under control in Mongolia.
