Mongolia’s Ministry of Finance and the European Union have launched a new project to strengthen the country’s public financial management systems under a financing agreement signed in March 2024.
The project will run from 2026 to 2029 and will be implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the European External Action Service (EEAS) announced on Tuesday.
It will focus on areas including budget planning, public spending efficiency and transparency, domestic revenue mobilisation, fiscal risk management, tax transparency, and budgeting linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a set of global targets on issues such as poverty, health and education.
Mendsaikhan Zagdjav, Mongolia’s finance minister, said the government was committed to strengthening budget planning, fiscal discipline and accountability so that public resources align with national development priorities.
The project is funded by the EU and led by Mongolia’s Ministry of Finance, with UNDP as the lead implementing partner working with the Ministry of Economy and Development, the General Department of Taxation, sector ministries and selected local governments.
WHO will provide expertise on budgeting and evaluation systems in the health sector.
Building on earlier EU-backed budgeting programme
The initiative follows an EU-funded programme implemented from 2020 to 2024 called “SDG-Aligned Budgeting to Transform Employment in Mongolia”, which introduced reforms in results-based planning and budgeting across central and local government institutions, the EEAS said.
Ina Marčiulionytė, the EU ambassador to Mongolia, said effective public financial management helps ensure resources are allocated strategically, spent efficiently and managed transparently.
Planned outcomes include wider use of programme- and results-based budgeting, improved fiscal risk management and disclosure, enhanced domestic revenue mobilisation and tax policy capacity, and stronger compliance with international tax transparency standards.
The project will also pilot programme budget formulation and evaluation in selected ministries and local governments.
Matilda Dimovska, UNDP resident representative in Mongolia, said strong public financial management enables governments to translate policy priorities into results for people and the planet.
