Khaltmaa Battulga wins Mongolian Presidency
July 11th, 2017
Populist former martial arts star and businessman Khaltmaa Battulga was sworn in as president, vowing to revive the flagging economy and pursue relations with countries outside its giant neighbors Russia and China. Battulga replaces Tsakhia Elbegdorj after the outgoing president served the maximum four-year terms for two times. Battulga inherits a $5.5 billion International Monetary Fund-led bailout intended to stabilize the economy of the debt-laden country and lessen its dependence on China, which purchases 80 percent of Mongolia’s exports. The poll was seen as a referendum on the government’s economic recovery plans and the role of southern neighbor China in the landlocked but resource-rich country known as the birthplace of Mongol emperor Genghis Khan.