The Foreign Policy Roundup returns, after a 2 month hiatus! As a reminder, in these bi-weekly posts I provide a brief summary of Mongolia’s international affairs developments over the past two weeks. (Most of the stories are from Mongolian-language sources, that I have translated on my own; therefore, any misspelled names of people or organizations are simple transliteration issues. If you do find any errors, please let me know.)
Multilateral Diplomacy
Minister L. Bold met with the UN Population Fund’s Mongolia Resident Representative Kitihara Naomii, at which he was handed the UNFPA’s recommendations for Mongolia.
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, G. Tsogtsaikhan, met with the Director of the Mongolian Division of the ILO, Liljert Perry, during which they exchanged opinions and ideas on the issues of strengthening Mongolia’s ability to manage migration (particularly to control emigration) and human trafficking.
D. Erdenbaatar was appointed director of the International Federation of Aeronautical Information Management Associations in charge of Asia-Pacific Affairs.
Bilateral Diplomacy
Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn, made an official visit to Mongolia, where he met with Minister L. Bold and Deputy Minister D. Terbishdagva.
U.S. President Barak Obama sent an official letter of congratulations to President Elbegdorj. In the letter, he praised Elbegdorj’s role in strengthening Mongolia’s democracy and mentioned the success of their last meeting in 2011 at the White House.
Mongolia’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan, J. Sukhee, presented his credentials to Kazakhstan’s vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saribay Kairat, and discussed Kazakhstan-Mongolian ties.
Mongolia’s Ambassador to Great Britain meet with British Parliament members to discuss security, political, and cultural cooperation and celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations. To further support educational and cultural relations, Britain announced that it would increase the number of government scholarships offered to Mongolian students.
L. Durgerjav, Mongolia’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, presented his credentials to the President of Bulgaria. The President made specific note of the ancient traditional ties between Bulgarians and Mongolians, and expressed his hope that modern relations would bring their respective peoples peacefully together.
The Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a senior delegation from the PRC.
Mongolia discussed cooperation with Japan in the medical sector.
Mongolia’s ambassador to Turkey, B. Bathishig, met with Turkish officials to discuss bilateral relations and ways to increase regular consultations between the two countries.
Economics
Minister Ch. Saihanbileg went to Hong Kong, meeting with the Hong Kong Financial Minister, Jon Tsan, and Director of Economic Development, Andrew Von. They discussed Mongolian plans for foreign investment, infrastructure, and finance.
Minister of Economic Development, N. Batbayar, traveled to Japan to discuss how to strengthen the Mongolian-Japanese strategic partnership, intensify bilateral economic relations, and develop new areas of cooperation.
Luxemburg and Mongolia have started negotiations for a Tax Treaty to avoid double taxation.
Defense/Security
Minister L. Bold met with the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Samuel J. Locklear to discuss cooperation between their respective defense departments and exchange ideas on future developments, especially after the U.S. withdraw from Afghanistan.
Mongolia participated for the first time in The Royal Edinburg Military Tattoo, an annual international military festival. Mongolian traditional dancers performed during the festival.
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