Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Prime Minister of Mongolia L.Oyun-Erdene is paying a working visit to Japan between July 21 and 25. During the visit, the Mongolian PM held official talks with Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga on July 22. 

The event marks the first meeting between the two countries to be held at Prime Minister-level in the past two years. The meeting took place in a friendly atmosphere and touched on the current state and future of Mongolia-Japan relations and a broad range of issues at international and regional levels. 

At the meeting, the PM Oyun-Erdene confirmed Mongolia’s willingness to develop the strategic partnership and cooperation with Japan, a third neighbor of Mongolia, in every possible area. Congratulating the government of Japan for successfully hosting the Olympic Games amid the challenging circumstances posed by the pandemic, PM Oyun-Erdene noted that the Olympics 2021 would serve as a historical symbol of the world overcoming the coronavirus pandemic. 

He further thanked for the government of Japan for its consistent support for Mongolia’s democracy, reform and sustainable development even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Japan’s assistance in vaccinating Mongolia’s youth against the coronavirus was highlighted at the meeting. 

For his part, the Japanese PM expressed gratitude for the Mongolian Premier for arriving in Japan during the time when the country is facing historic challenges of organizing the Games and for kicking off his foreign travels with Japan. 

The sides agreed on the necessity to elevate the economic, trade and investment cooperation to the next level on the basis of a solid foundation of bilateral political relations of Mongolia and Japan and to strengthen the public private partnership. 

The meeting covered issues concerning ongoing or proposed economic cooperation projects, including Mongolia’s new International Ulaanbaatar Airport recently opened at the Khushigt valley near Ulaanbaatar city, development of the region as a complex economic, information technology and tourism region, a highway development surrounding the capital city aimed at reducing traffic congestion of the city, Bogdkhan railway development, intensifying the public-private partnership in information technology, training of engineers and cooperation in development of a feasibility study for a hydropower plant at coal deposits. 

The two Premiers agreed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, which is to be marked in 2022. Japanese Emperor Naruhito was invited to visit Mongolia for the upcoming historic event of bilateral relations. The Mongolian side also accepted with gratitude the Japanese PM’s proposal to declare 2022 as ‘The year of friendship and exchanges between Mongolian and Japanese children and youth’. 

Two sides remarked the successful completion of the Mongolia-Japan Mid-term Action Plan for a Strategic Partnership 2017-2021 and set to agree on the contents of the next mid term action plan for 2021-2025. The sides also mentioned about Mongolia-Japan successful cooperation on international and regional fora and pledged for active cooperation further within the framework of the United Nations and other multilateral organizations. 

At the end of the meeting, Japan’s PM Yoshihide Suga congratulated for a Mongolian sumo wrestler becoming Japanese sumo’s new Yokozuna, the sport’s highest rank. 

The Mongolian PM’s visit to Japan will continue with him paying a courtesy call on the Japanese Emperor and meeting with Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and members of Japan-Mongolia parliamentarian friendship group.