Dulguun Damdin-Od was elected the Executive Director of the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries (ITTLLDC) by the Board of Governors of the ITTLLDC in 2022.
Prior to his appointment he served as the Research Coordinator since 2014, when the ITTLLDC was still in its’ interim phase, before becoming the Director of Operations in 2019.
With the help of his continuous dedication and commitment, the idea of establishing a think tank dedicated to the particular needs and problems of landlocked developing countries was able to come to fruition when the Multilateral Agreement for the Establishment of an International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries entered into force on October 6th of 2017, legally establishing the first ever international intergovernmental institution headquartered in Mongolia, as well as establishing the first ever Intergovernmental Institution of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries at the United Nations.
Before devoting himself fulltime to the work of the ITTLLDC, Mr. Damdin-Od launched his professional career as an interpreter for the Third Road Project of ADB Mongolia in 2003, and since then has held multiple positions at various sectors of the government and non-government organizations, such as the Mongolian Youth Federation, the Ministry of Fuel and Energy, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Ministry of Mining of Mongolia in 2004-2014. In 2014 he worked as the national consultant for the Mining Infrastructure Investment Support (MINIS) Project of the World Bank.
Mr. Damdin-Od earned his MBA from the International University of Japan in 2012, majoring in the International Management.
He has ample experience in academic research, beginning with his thesis on “The Impact of Mineral and Energy Resources’ Development on Mongolian Economic Growth”, his research on “Terms of Reference for Feasibility Study of Plant to Extract Natural Gas from Coal” for the Mining Infrastructure Investment Support (MINIS) Project of the World Bank, a joint study with UN-ESCAP titled “Building e-resilience: Enhancing the role of ICTs for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in Mongolia” and a study funded by ADB on “Rethinking Regional Integration in LLDCs”.
Under his supervision, the ITTLLDC published several publications, including: “Multilateral Trade Negotiations and LLDCs: A handbook for negotiators and practitioners” in 2015, “Bilateral Transit and Transportation Agreements of LLDCs: Benefits and Bottlenecks – Case India and Nepal” funded by the Government of Austria in 2016, a joint comparative study with WHO on “Strengthening emergency and essential surgical care at the selected rural hospitals in Laos” in 2017.
Mr. Damdin-Od is married with 2 children.