Foreign Minister holds official talks with her South Korean counterpart

Politics
e.erdenejargal@montsame.gov.mn
2022-08-29 16:13:05

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia B.Battsetseg today held official talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Park Jin, who is paying an official visit to Mongolia on August 28-30.


During the official talks, the Foreign Ministers agreed to expand and strengthen bilateral cooperation in five main areas.


Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg expressed her confidence that the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea to Mongolia will make an important contribution to strengthening the strategic partnership, intensifying trade, investment and economic cooperation, and strengthening friendly relations between the people of the two countries.


While underscoring that Mongolia and the Republic of Korea have common values of democracy, human rights, freedom, and market economy, the parties agreed to intensify the political dialogue between Mongolia and the Republic of Korea and strengthen the mechanism of strategic dialogue on foreign policy, security and defense issues. In this context, it was decided to strengthen dialogue mechanisms such as the Joint Committee between the Governments of Mongolia and the Republic of Korea, and the Strategic Consultation Meeting between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and organize their regular meetings within this year.

The parties discussed to pay more attention to the development of priority areas of the economy such as transportation, logistics, tourism, energy, mining, and agriculture. In this regard, they exchanged views on efficiently cooperating in the abovementioned fields and implementing joint mega development projects, aligning Mongolia’s ‘Vision-2050’, long-term development policy, with South Korea’s newly formed government’s policies.



Foreign Minister Park Jin expressed his support for Mongolia's ‘New Revival Policy’ and the implementation of a large-scale development project in the Khushig Valley. In addition, within the framework of cooperation in the agricultural sector, South Korea’s ‘Smart farm’ project will be implemented in Mongolia to intensify the cooperation.


Both sides commended the successful initiation of the work to study South Korea’s experience of establishing a Free Economic Zone, and agreed to continue cooperation in this area.


In order to strengthen the legal environment in the direction of increasing trade and investment and reducing trade barriers, it was agreed to start negotiations on the establishment of an ‘Economic Partnership Agreement’ based on the results of joint research between the two countries. Also, the work of revising the ‘Intergovernmental Agreement on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments’ will be intensified.


Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg emphasized that South Korea has been consistently supporting Mongolia since the transition to a market economy, while underscoring the valuable contributions made by South Korea to Mongolia’s social and economic development through its grants and soft loans. It was decided to pay particular attention to intensifying the implementation of the ‘Solongo Affordable Housing Complex 1 and 2 Project’, which has been started as part of the goal of reducing air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city.


The South Korean side expressed willingness to cooperate with Mongolia in the supply of rare earth elements for semiconductors and batteries, and emphasized that the South Korean government has resolved to provide a grant for the establishment of a joint research center for rare earth elements in Mongolia.


Continued support will be provided for the initiatives aimed at combating desertification, such as ‘One Billion Trees’, and the sides will continue planting trees on 45 hectares within the framework of the ‘Green Belt’ project. During the official talks, the intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in mitigating climate change was established.


Within the framework of supporting the exchange of citizens, joint support will be provided in the fields of culture, education, health, children's and youth development, sports, physical culture, and humanitarianism. Detailed proposals were exchanged to protect the interests of Mongolian citizens living in South Korea, create favorable conditions for citizens to travel, facilitate visa requirements for citizens traveling for medical purposes, and increase the frequency of flights between the two countries. Also, in order to make real progress in facilitating consular and visa requirements, it was agreed to establish a working group with the participation of representatives of relevant organizations such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs of the two countries in the near future.


While noting the ample opportunities that the two countries have to jointly contribute to regional peace and security and regional prosperity, Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg emphasized the active participation of South Korea in Mongolia’s ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security’ initiative. Foreign Minister Park Jin, in turn, expressed support for Mongolia’s initiative to organize a tripartite meeting between Mongolia, South Korea and the United States.


The South Korean side, for the first time, expressed readiness to support Mongolia’s accession to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asia Summit.


The visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, which is being organized after 8 years, is of particular importance in evaluating the past 30 years of relations between the two countries, and defining the prospects and roadmap of cooperation for the next 30 years.



Related news