Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On June 17, a ceremony took place at the Sukhbaatar Square to honor the military troops of the Mongolian Armed Forces who served in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Contributions to the United Nations Standby Arrangements signed between Mongolia and the United Nations in 1999, and the Law on participation of Military and Police personnel in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and other international operations that was adopted in 2002, the Mongolian Armed Forces began to contribute to the peacekeeping operations carried out in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan starting from 2003. 

The Mongolian Armed Forces sent military personnel to Afghanistan in:

• 2003-2011: deployed 265 officers of mobile training units to prepare artillery units in the framework of the operation, ‘Enduring Freedom’,

• 2009-2015: deployed 1,252 military personnel from the moto shooting battalion,

• 2010-2015: deployed 54 training personnel as well as 439 personnel for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),

• since 2015: deployed 1,356 personnel for the NATO-led mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM).

A total of about 3,300 military personnel of the Mongolian Armed Forces have served in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, with the most recent team of personnel arriving back home on June 4, 2021.

President of Mongolia and Commander-in-Chief of the Mongolian Armed Forces Kh.Battulga attended the ceremony and gave remarks. He said, “For 30 years starting from 1991, Mongolia-U.S. relations and partnership in the defense sector greatly developed in certain areas through measures such as providing support for reforms in the defense sector of Mongolia, capacity building for peacekeeping operations carried out by the Mongolian Armed Forces, sharing practices, and jointly carrying out duties and serving in missions for regional stability.

Partnership between the two countries' military forces have served an important role in protecting the shared values of democracy, freedom, and human rights, deepening the friendly relations between the peoples of the two countries, strengthening military confidence in the region and internationally, and maintaining peace and stability. 

Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Contributions to the United Nations Standby Arrangements in 1999, and the establishment of appropriate legal environment for deploying military personnel for peacekeeping operations in 2002, our military personnel began to serve in the operations from that year on with the deployment of military observers for UN peacekeeping.

As the President of Mongolia and Commander-in-Chief of the Mongolian Armed Forces, I must highlight that the skills, discipline, and organization of the Mongolian Armed Forces personnel have been acknowledged by government leaders, military specialists and personnel of other countries, alongside the contributions that have been made to peacekeeping operations.”

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Defense G.Saikhanbayar, Head of the Office of the President U.Shijir, Security and Defense Advisor to the President L.Bold, Foreign Policy Advisor to the President T.Tegshjargal, Chief of the General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces D.Ganzorig, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America Michael S. Klecheski.