Mongolia and Japan exchange note for COVID-19 emergency response loan

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Toshimitsu Motegi paid an official visit to Mongolia at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs N.Enkhtaivan from October 9 to 10.

Minister N.Enkhtaivan held official talks with his counterpart Motegi, and the parties exchanged views on the current state of Mongolian-Japanese relations, future goals and activities on October 9.

Minister N.Enkhtaivan underscored that the visit of the minister of foreign affairs of Japan, which is Mongolia’s third neighbor and has shared democratic values, is taking place at a time when parliamentary elections were held in Mongolia and a new government was formed, while Japan’s new Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been established.

He expressed confidence that the visit will further strengthen the Mongolian-Japanese strategic partnership and give impetus to bilateral cooperation.

Minister Motegi stressed the importance of coordination and close cooperation with regional countries during the ongoing global pandemic and reaffirmed the commitment of the Japanese government to further expand and strengthen the developing strategic partnership of Mongolia and Japan.

He said that the Japanese government has decided to provide Mongolia a 25 billion JPY (approximately 230 million USD) loan on very favorable terms with an interest rate of 0.01 percent. Following the official talks, the ministers signed an exchange note for the COVID-19 emergency response loan.

Minister Motegi introduced that the Japanese government has begun issuing visas to Mongolian citizens visiting Japan for business trips or staying in the country for a long period of time as part of the phased re-opening for mutual travels of citizens of the two countries.

Foreign Minister N.Enkhtaivan expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for its consistent support of democracy, reform and sustainable development in Mongolia since the early 1990s, as well as its assistance to Mongolia during the pandemic.

Noting that the economic partnership agreement between Mongolia and Japan has begun to bear fruit, N.Enkhtaivan expressed his interest in cooperation with Japan in order to actively attract Japanese investment, technology and know-how, diversify the economy, and increase exports. He then put forward a proposal to hold a meeting of the relevant subcommittees in the near future with a view to intensify the implementation of the Mongolia-Japan economic partnership agreement.

During the talks, the parties also agreed to deepen the Mongolian-Japanese strategic partnership in a wide range of areas, including politics, defense, trade, economy, agriculture, culture, education and consular relations.

The ministers then discussed the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, which will fall in 2022, and agreed to settle on the content of the next program, which will be implemented from 2021 to 2025, in the near future.

In addition, the parties confirmed their readiness to deepen bilateral cooperation within the UN and other international organizations, as well as to maintain close interaction in order to ensure development and prosperity in Northeast Asia and security on the Korean Peninsula.

PRESIDENT

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu paid a courtesy call on President Kh.Battulga on October 10.

During the meeting, they shared views on the plans for celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and bilateral cooperation in mining, road, transport, infrastructure, trade and humanities.

The president highlighted that the level of bilateral economic and trade relations is unsatisfactory compared to the history of diplomatic relations, and said that more efforts should be put into addressing the need to improve effectiveness of the economic partnership agreement, which was signed in 2015.

PREMIER

On October 9, Minister Motegi met with Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh.

During the meeting, the prime minister expressed his satisfaction for the Japanese government attaching great importance to its relations and cooperation with Mongolia, and reaffirmed its commitment to expand relations and cooperation with its third neighbor, Japan, in all aspects.

The Japanese minister expressed confidence that the prime ministers of Mongolia and Japan will maintain close cooperation.

The two sides agreed that maintaining the frequency of high-level reciprocal visits and expanding trade and economic cooperation is essential for the further development of the bilateral relations and cooperation.

Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh stressed the importance of attracting Japanese investment and introducing its machinery and technology in the industrial sector in an effort to diversify Mongolia’s economy and increase exports.