Mongolia"s Prime Minister has moved to reassure investors that his government is committed to a stable and predictable investment environment.

Prime Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold is visiting Australia, courting business and official know-how to develop the country"s vast mineral wealth.

Mongolia"s recent cancellation of some gold licences and a stoush with Canada over a uranium development that"s going to international arbitration have fuelled concern about the investment environment.

On a four-day official visit to Australia, the Prime Minister has secured a new Australian trade office in Ulan Bator and new student scholarships to Australia.

It"s part of Mongolia"s so-called "third neighour" strategy to build a cordon of democratic friends to balance the Russian and Chinese giants on the doorstep.

Presenter: Linda Mottram
Speakers: Sukhbaataryn Batbold, Mongolia"s Prime Minister; Julian Dierkes, the Keidanren Chair in Japanese Research, University of British Columbia, who also writes on Mongolia