PRESIDENT KH.BATTULGA MEETS PRESIDENT PUTIN AT JUDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 28 in Budapest after the opening ceremony of the 2017 World Judo Championships.
“Mr. President, I am very glad to have the opportunity to meet you. We know you both as a politician and a good athlete. I would like to congratulate you on the excellent performance of Mongolian judokas at the World Championships here,” remarked President Putin.
Not wanting to divulge too far into politics, President Putin spoke briefly about the upcoming Eastern Economic Forum to be held in Vladivostok on September 6 and 7.
“As for bilateral relations, we will have an opportunity to speak about them in more detail in Vladivostok, where I know you are planning to attend the forum as well. But it is already clear that the trend in trade is good. While last year it fell by 20 percent, in the first half year of 2017 it grew by over 34 percent. Work is being done on the political track, as well as in the economic and cultural areas. Our traditional Russian-Mongolian ventures are working hard and shipments are up. So, we will have plenty to discuss in depth in Vladivostok,” the Russian President added.
President Kh.Battulga, responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin by reiterating his stance on further intensifying relations with Russia.
“I am very pleased to meet with you at such a remarkable event as the World Judo Championships. It is great that we are meeting at this event because it is something we are both interested in and fond of. I believe it will serve us well in the future. Naturally, we are planning to have a meeting in Vladivostok in the near future.
“The presidential election in Mongolia was less than two months ago. Considering modern realities, I am planning to further expand relations with our northern neighbor.
“You have just said that trade has grown. This trade owes something to cross-border regions and I think it is important to pay attention to the relations between border regions because we have a common border of over 4,000 km.
“Naturally, we are primarily interested in investment. Our priority is railways. We have a joint venture, Ulaanbaatar Railways, with fifty-fifty participation,” President Kh.Battulga divulged.