The last two weeks of Mongolian foreign policy news are marked with 2 important state visits: The Mongolian PM’s official visit to China; The Canadian Governor-General’s first visit to Ulaanbaatar. See below for the highlights of these visits and more.
Neighbors
Mongolian and Russian representatives from the countries’ respective Ministries of Infrastructure and Transportation met in Ulaanbaatar to discuss rail connections and Mongolia’s reliance on the jointly-owned railway for the transport of goods ranging from oil and piping to building materials.
PM Altankhuyag traveled to China. During this official visit he met not only with Beijing officials, but also with representatives from China’s southwestern provinces, participating in the 14th Western China International Fair. During the forum, Altankhuyag remarked that Mongolia is a country full of business opportunities, not solely in the mining sector. The visit concluded with the signing of a strategic partnership between Mongolia and China. Of particular interest, the agreement noted that Mongolia’s Sukhbaatar Aimag led the push for increased cooperation with China’s Liaoning province.
Mongolia’s newly appointed ambassador to the Russian Federation, Sh. Altangerel presented his credentials to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During L. Bold’s attendance at the World Economic Forum in Moscow, negotiations between the Eurasian Development Bank and the Mongolian government were reopened. At the same time, consultations were reopened between Mongolia and Rusneft, a Russian oil conglomerate.
Asia Pacific
Mongolia and North Korea are marking the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Guardian recently released a story on the economic benefits of Mongolia’s continued good relations with North Korea.
Consultations were held between the Vietnamese and Mongolian Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
North America
Canadian Governor-General David Johnston made an official visit to Mongolia, during which he addressed the Mongolian Parliament. Following the address, he paid his respects to the Chinngis Khaan statue outside of the Government Palace and signed the official guest book of the Mongolian state. This year marks 40 years of Canadian-Mongolian relations and the first visit by a Canadian Governor-General. During the visit a number of agreements on cooperation in medicine, construction, infrastructure, and agriculture were discussed and signed. During a press conference, President Elbegdorj remarked that this visit marked a new page in Canadian-Mongolian bilateral relations; Governor-General Johnston similarly remarked that relations between the two countries would soon be strengthened across a number of sectors. To see a video released by the Canadian government, click here. During the visit, Dr. Julian Dierkes was awarded the Governor-General’s Medallion. See Dr. Dierkes’ report on the outcome of the visit, here.
Europe
Great Britain’s Minister of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague, visited Ulaanbaatar on the invitation of Minister L Bold. The two exchanged views for how Mongolia and Britain might cooperate more fully, with particular emphasis on the mining sector.
The Polish President visited Mongolia on invitation of President Ts. Elbegdorj. They held negotiations, followed by more formal meetings with PM N. Altankhuyag and Director of Parliament Z. Enkhbold. The visit concluded with the signing of a MoU signed by Mongolian Minister of Mining, D. Gankhuyag, and the Polish Deputy Economics Minister on technological cooperation in the mining sector, and a meeting of the Poland-Mongolia Business Council.
The French Foreign Minister made a two-day trip to Mongolia on the invitation of L. Bold. During the visit new visa regulations that would allow diplomatic passport holders 90-days of visa-free entry were announce.
A seminar was held in Mongolia’s embassy in Belgium regarding the emerging EU-Mongolian Partnership.
Middle East
L. Bold received the Turkish Ambassador to discussed cooperation in trade, education, and defense.
Mongolian citizens can now travel visa free to Turkey for 30 days and to Brunei for 14 days. The same applies for Turkish and Brunei citizens traveling to Mongolia.
Multilateral
October 27, 2013 marks the 53rd anniversary of Mongolia’s admission into the United Nations.
For previous postings of the Foreign Policy Roundup in 2013 CLICK HERE.
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