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PacNet #43 – Ten Things We Get From Mongolia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit this week to Mongolia is significant in both symbolic and substantive terms. She last visited as first lady — 17 years ago — when Mongolia was in the early throes of democratic and economic transition from its communist era. Mongolians remember her visit then, when she offered support for change and women’s rights, with fondness and no small degree of sentimentality. And so the return of the "rock star" Madam Secretary to a Mongolia that now boasts the world’s highest growth rates for the second year running was a call for celebration. That she addressed the gathering of new democracies from Mongolia was especially opportune: the United States has a vested interest in pointing out Mongolia’s success in political and economic transition. Here is a list of 10 things we get from Mongolia (and I&’ll leave mineral wealth — the subject of most media focus — to last).