Ulaanbaatar, August 6, 2024 /MONTSAME/. The official visit of the U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to Mongolia is one of the major events held in the political, social, and economic landscapes of Mongolia recently.

Politically, the official visit is regarded as a significant drive to strengthen the Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership between Mongolia and the United States. From the economic viewpoint, the Visit is also significant as the two parties confirmed the Roadmap for Expanded Economic Partnership between the two countries and agreed to organize an Energy Cooperation Dialogue in Ulaanbaatar in 2024.

Under the Roadmap for Expanded Economic Partnership, Mongolia and the United States agreed to cooperate in reducing Mongolian economic dependence and creating new jobs.

During the official visit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken forwarded that many American companies are interested and ready to invest in Mongolia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that strengthening economic stability and security is not only the top priority in economic relations between the two countries but also a fundamental pillar of the Strategic Third Neighbor Partnership between Mongolia and the United States. Mr. Blinken also noted that the United States attaches special attention to investing in renewable energy and green technology, while continuing current cooperation in mutually interested sectors, including critical minerals, food security, and the digital economy.

The US Secretary of State emphasized the need to be corruption-free and create favorable investment conditions and a legal environment, as investments from the United States are made through private sectors.

The United States Government expressed commitment to providing support in bolstering Mongolia’s economic resilience through investment. 

According to the annual report of 2023, direct foreign investment from the United States into Mongolia reached USD 680 million. Some indicators of the economic relations between Mongolia and the United States in 2023 are:

• Total trade turnover was USD 317.4 million
• Mongolian export to the U.S. was USD 36.6 million
• Mongolian import from the U.S. was USD 280.8 million

In 2021, the trade turnover between Mongolia and the U.S. was USD 244 million, with imports from the U.S. to Mongolia amounting to USD 213 million and exports to the U.S. USD 31 million.

The main products exported from Mongolia to the U.S. are knitted products, such as sweaters, pullover shirts, jumpers, vests, travel blankets, foodstuffs, tungsten ore, and enriched tungsten ore. Meanwhile, the main import products from the U.S. to Mongolia include heavy machinery products such as forklifts, excavators, dump trucks, spare parts, foodstuffs, petroleum products, and chemicals.

Over the recent years, the U.S. supplied aircraft, train locomotives, and mining and communication equipment. This shows that American companies are running active operations in vital infrastructure fields in Mongolia such as air transport and railway.