- USAID-Mongolia Strategic Framework

List of Key Chapter Titles

1. Executive Summary
2. Country Context
3. Strategic Pathway
4. Results Framework
5. Strengthening Democratic Governance
6. Sustainable Development Financing
7. Private Sector Engagement
8. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
9. Optimization of Energy Services
10. Expansion of the Digital Economy
11. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
12. Donor Landscape

Document Introduction

This strategic framework serves as a guide for cooperation actions by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mongolia from January 2023 to January 2028. Its core objective is to assist Mongolia in becoming an autonomous, well-governed, and prosperous Indo-Pacific partner. This goal aligns closely with the broader Indo-Pacific vision, encompassing three key dimensions: promoting economic prosperity, strengthening governance capacity, and enhancing security levels.

Since its democratic transition in 1990, Mongolia has undergone three decades of rapid political and economic transformation, once reaching upper-middle-income status. However, the 2016 economic crisis exposed its structural vulnerabilities stemming from over-reliance on the mining sector and trade with neighboring countries. Democratic governance also faces multiple challenges, including weak checks and balances, insufficient transparency, restricted media freedom, and low participation of women and youth. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated economic contraction and social pressures, highlighting the sustainability risks of its development model.

The strategic framework establishes two core development objectives: first, to strengthen democratic governance by enhancing the responsiveness of targeted government institutions and promoting informed public participation to address the risk of democratic backsliding; second, to advance a diversified and inclusive economy, focusing on improving the competitiveness of private enterprises, providing affordable and reliable energy services, and expanding the digital economy to break the cycle of economic over-specialization. The framework adopts a stakeholder approach based on behavioral science, with the Mongolian government, civil society, and the private sector as the three core pillars of influence, while also emphasizing the inclusive participation of marginalized groups such as women, youth, and the LGBTQI community.

In terms of the cooperation pathway, the framework emphasizes the strategic value of the United States as Mongolia's "Third Neighbor." Through technical assistance, resource coordination, and building partnership networks, it aims to strengthen the resilience of Mongolia's democratic institutions and its economic self-reliance, thereby reducing its dependence on neighboring countries. Simultaneously, the framework fully aligns with Mongolia's "Vision 2030" for sustainable development and establishes a robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning mechanism to ensure the traceability and sustainability of cooperation outcomes.

This strategic framework is not only a crucial blueprint for cooperation following the upgrade of the U.S.-Mongolia strategic partnership but also reflects the United States' strategic considerations in the Indo-Pacific region to consolidate its alliance system and balance regional influence through democratic governance and economic cooperation. It provides an authoritative reference for understanding U.S.-Mongolia relations and Indo-Pacific geopolitical dynamics in the new era.