Ulaanbaatar, August 5, 2024 /MONTSAME/. Foreign Minister of Mongolia Battsetseg Batmunkh and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo held official talks on August 5, 2024.

At the outset of the official talks, Foreign Minister of Mongolia Battsetseg Batmunkh emphasized that Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo’ Visit is the first high-level official visit from the Philippines to Mongolia since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1973. The Foreign Minister noted that Mongolia attaches high significance to its relations and cooperation with the Philippines, an important partner of Mongolia in Southeast Asia and an influential member of the ASEAN.

The two sides affirmed mutual commitment to expanding friendly relations and cooperation between Mongolia and the Philippines, enriching them with new content, increasing the frequency of political dialogue, strengthening mutual trust, and consolidating people-to-people ties. Also, the two sides comprehensively exchanged views on bilateral cooperation and cooperation in international and regional arenas.

At the official talks, the Philippine side stated that the Government of the Philippines has decided to provide humanitarian aid to Mongolia to help the country reduce disaster risk and overcome disasters. In turn, the Mongolian side expressed gratitude to the Philippine side and agreed to cooperate closely in addressing climate change, reducing disaster risk, and building a disaster-resilient society.

The two Foreign Ministers concurred on further developing concrete cooperation in all fields and accelerating Mongolia-the Philippines cooperation in education, culture, sports, health, information technology, labor, and social welfare. To that end, the two sides agreed to cooperate in training English language teachers for universities and secondary education schools in Mongolia's rural areas, strengthening their capacity, and implementing teacher exchange programs.

The two parties also agreed to establish a legal basis for cooperation in social welfare and employment, particularly collaborating in the social care and service field and recruiting labor from the Philippines in education, tourism, and services, and to exchange pertinent draft documents in the near future.

In conjunction with the Mongolian Government’s announcement of 2024 as the "Year to Support Regional Development," the two Foreign Ministers agreed to cooperate in this direction by studying the best practices of the Philippines, which has been consistently and successfully implementing the Regional Development Policy. In addition, the Philippine side expressed its readiness to intensify bilateral cooperation in the health sector, involving Mongolian medical doctors and specialists in short and medium-term professional development training in the Philippines, and cooperating in capacity building.

To foster the people-to-people exchange, a bridge of friendly relations between Mongolia and the Philippines, and expand cooperation in the tourism sector, the two parties expressed their commitment to further improving the favorable conditions of visa-free travel for the citizens of the two countries.

Noting the active mutual support within the framework of the United Nations and other international organizations, the two parties expressed commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in international and regional arenas. The two Foreign Ministers also exchanged views on the continued support of the Philippines for Mongolia’s bid to become a partial dialogue partner, development partner, and further a dialogue partner of ASEAN.