SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES ENERGY MEGAPROJECT COOPERATION WITH GOVERNOR OF IRKUTSK
Speaker of Parliament M. Enkhbold met with Governor of Russia’s Irkutsk Region Sergei Levchenko on Friday, at the State House, to discuss cooperation between Mongolia and Irkutsk and possibilities for cooperation on energy projects.
During their meeting, the Speaker pointed out that during meetings held last December with Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin and Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia Valentina Matviyenko, detailed discussions took place on strengthening collaboration at all levels in regions along the Mongolian and Russian border.
Speaker M.Enkhbold noted that when he was Mayor of Ulaanbaatar, relations between Ulaanbaatar and Irkutsk increased in a wide range of sectors and a number of art and culture exchanges took place between the two cities.
The Speaker said that he hopes Governor Levchenko will help reinstate friendly relations between the sister cities and take bilateral relations and cooperation to a new level.
Governor Levchenko said that a trade fair promoting Mongolia’s goods and products will take place in Irkutsk in April, and that he hopes the fair will help increase trade turnover between Mongolia and Irkutsk.
The Governor recalled that engineers of the Soviet Union, including many from Irkutsk, made great contributions to building up the Mongolian energy sector. He noted that the Irkutsk Region has valuable experience in the energy sector and has engineers with knowledge of producing cost efficient energy, and that Irkutsk is ready to collaborate in the future. Irkutsk’s engineers helped build the Bratsk, Irkutsk, and Ust-Ilimsk hydroelectric power stations, which are fully functioning now.
Governor Levchenko pointed out that tourism also offers numerous opportunities for collaboration. He noted that Mongolian and Russian officials agreed to open a tourist gateway between Lake Khuvsgul and Baikal Lake, but that the project has stalled because of road conditions between the two points.
The Governor highlighted that the Government of the Russian Federation is concentrating on improving ecological and environmental protection efforts at Baikal Lake by closing factories in the area. He added that the Mongolia-Russia Intergovernmental Commission should focus on improving roads between the lakes.
The Irkutsk delegation said that they will ask the Russian government to host the 2017 meeting of the Mongolia-Russia Intergovernmental Commission in Irkutsk, and asked Speaker M.Enkhbold to support the request.
Governor Levchenko presented Speaker M.Enkhbold with a list of megaprojects which will be carried out in Irkutsk over the next few years.