AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolia has become the second country to meet all the requirements of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standard among the 51 implementing countries, Xinhua reported citing Mongolian authorities.

Mongolia was assessed as meeting all the requirements of the EITI standard by the EITI Board, second to the Philippines, which passed the assessment last October.

"Mongolia has made remarkable progress since their first validation eighteen months ago, in particular bringing transparency on state participation in the extractive sector," said the EITI board chair Fredrik Reinfeldt, describing the Mongolian achievement as "a significant milestone."

The EITI, launched in September 2002, is a global standard to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources, seeking to address the key governance issues. The EITI international secretariat is based in Oslo, Norway.