The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and Authority for Family, Child and Youth Development organized a forum “Role of Youth in Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals” on December 12 in Ulaanbaatar. Some 850 young people between the ages of 15 to 34 from 21 provinces and participated in the forum. Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh attended the forum, and gave a speech about government’s measures and efforts on promoting youth development. He stated that as people between the ages of 15 to 34 constitute 34.6 percent of the country’s population, and as they form half of the nation’s working-age population, youth is the most valuable asset of Mongolia. The Premier said, “If the country takes advantage of our youth, the largest portion of the nation’s population, it will accelerate the country’s development. That is why the government seeks to carry out more policies, projects and programs towards youth development.” He noted that the government will support enterprises which focus on services aimed at new graduates looking for jobs. In addition, he emphasized that the government will carry out a transparent and open system that will provide students with scholarships, loans and other financial aids. U.Khurelsukh stressed that the government is concentrating on creating more jobs for unemployed youth by reducing foreign workforce by half or more, adding that the number of foreign workers was 42,242 in 2014, which decreased by more than half as of now (20,000). He noted that the government will support young entrepreneurs who want to begin start-up businesses, and work to provide soft and flexible loans and other aids to graduates of colleges and vocational training centers.  U.Khurelsukh said that state organizations in charge of youth affairs have been established in 21 provinces and Ulaanbaatar districts to address challenges facing Mongolian youth and promote their new initiatives. The Prime Minister underlined that as Parliament approved the Law on Promotion of Youth Development last week, the government plans to create a national program to promote youth development, which will be connected with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.