By Kevin McCauley
Mongolia has retained Gage International for a campaign to bolster its economic, cultural and political ties with the U.S.
A key priority is to increase USAID funding for Mongolia. Gage also will push for State Dept. discretionary funding to buttress Mongolia as it assumes the presidency of the Community of Democracies later this year.
Under the $25K-a-month pact effective Jan. 1, Gage is to provide political intelligence to Mongolia's embassy and schedule meetings with Members of Congress and staffers "in order to bring visibility and advocate on behalf of the country," according to Gage's contract.
Gage is headed by Leo Giacometto, chief of staff to Montana's ex-Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, veteran of the State Dept.'s counterterrorism unit and former VP-government affairs of engineering giant Morrison Knudsen.
Gage is founder/CEO of Mongolia Forward, a uranium mining project, and co-founder of a Pepsi franchise in Mongolia.
The firm's senior advisors include Burns and Matt McKenna, communications director for President Bill Clinton.
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