Ulaanbaatar, July 3, 2023 /MONTSAME/. On June 30, the Chairman of the State Great Khural G. Zandanshatar received the Military Adviser to the UN Secretary-General General Birame Diop.

At the outset of the meeting, the Chairman of the State Great Khural G. Zandanshatar noted that Mongolia has sent more than 14 thousand military personnel 15 times to the UN peacekeeping operations since 2002, highlighting Mongolia’s peace-keeping, open, independent, and multi-pillar foreign policy and Mongolia's ever-expanding cooperation with the UN and other countries all over the world.

"The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, visited Mongolia and brought Mongolia's cooperation with the UN to a new level last year. Moreover, Mongolia has been increasing the number of women peacekeepers as part of its contributions to the UN Security Council's resolution (S/RES/1325) on women, peace, and security. Mongolia successfully hosted the International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security within the framework of the 20th anniversary of Mongolia's participation in peacekeeping operations last year as well. Thus, we are planning to organize the conference every five years in cooperation with the UN," the Chairman continued.

For his part, the Military Adviser to the UN Secretary-General General Birame Diop noted that Mongolia, home to three million people, is ranked as the 23rd country in the world in terms of the number of troops it has sent to UN peacekeeping operations, acknowledging Mongolia's commitment to the international community.

In addition, General Birame Diop briefly presented a newly planned project with aims at solving family and social challenges faced by peacekeepers and said that the planned project would start from Mongolia.

Acknowledging the professional skills, performance, discipline, and organization of the Mongolian military personnel, General Birame Diop expressed his delight at participating in the "Khaan Quest-2023," which is a multinational peacekeeping operations exercise conducted in Mongolia and pledged all-around support.

Mongolia actively supports the activities of the United Nations for world peace and security and strives to become the primary military donor to United Nations peacekeeping operations.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to establish an international peace training and research institute. The Chairman of the State Great Khural emphasized the importance of the United Nations' participation and support in this endeavor.

At the meeting, the parties discussed and exchanged opinions on the possibility of deploying trained senior and experienced officers from the Armed Forces of Mongolia, who have participated in peacekeeping operations, to the United Nations Department of Peace Operations and at the management level.