Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On November 24, the fifth meeting of the Joint Committee between the governments of Mongolia and the Republic of Korea was held virtually.

The meeting, attended by corresponding government officials, was headed by Minister of Environment and Tourism D.Sarangerel from the Mongolian side and Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Tae-ho from the Korean side.  

The meeting, which was organized within the framework of the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, touched on issues regarding preparation for elevating the Mongolia-ROK Comprehensive Partnership up to Strategic Partnership, establishing frequent strategic dialogue mechanism and organizing consultative meetings between sectoral ministries and organizations uninterruptedly, as well as outcomes of the works carried out for the 30th diplomatic jubilee. 

The sides also shared views on enhancing the benefits of Official Development Assistance by South Korea, and to weigh up and advance the progress of projects and programs underway in Mongolia through ROK’s grant assistance and soft loans. An attention will be paid on some projects, such as Solongo 1 and 2 - apartment complex construction project, a project to build thermal power plants in 10 aimags and Tourism Training Center project.  

The delegates then talked about matters concerning bilateral relations in trade and economy, road and transportation, energy, infrastructure, environment, agriculture, health, culture and education areas and agreed to learn from Korea’s experience in building of smart city, to implement third phase of Mongolian-ROK ‘Green Wall’ project and collaborate further on establishing quarantine standards for agricultural products. 

At the meeting, the sides concurred that Mongolia acceding to the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) as a member will bring great impetus to the development of trade and economic ties between the two nations. The Korean side expressed its willingness to continue working together to update data on the basis of joint research on the establishment of an Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries with a view to promote bilateral trade and investment. 

After exchanging views on information and experience sharing and close collaboration amid the COVID-19 pandemic and air travel suspension, the two sides affirmed to maintain current close collaboration on repatriation of citizens and provide necessary support on conducting charter flights. Also views were shared on deepening Mongolia-ROK bilateral cooperation on regional and international arena, and on issues on cooperation to ensure peace and security in Northeast Asia. 

In conclusion, the sides agreed to host the committee's next meeting in 2021 in Seoul.