Mongolia and Japan to expand strategic partnership
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Yoshimasa Hayashi is paying an official visit to Mongolia from April 30 to May 2 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Relations B.Battsetseg.
The deputy spokesperson for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a virtual press briefing on May 1.
During his visit, Minister Hayashi met Premier L.Oyun-Erdene and his Mongolian counterpart B.Battsetseg last Sunday. He also plans to meet President U.Khurelsukh today, according to the spokesperson.
Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene and Minister Hayashi exchanged views on cooperation in overcoming the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing trade and investment, and intensifying the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement. They also discussed opportunities to enrich the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries in a new context within the framework of the Strategic Partnership.
Moreover, the two foreign ministers held official talks to assess the current state of Mongolia-Japan relations and exchange views on joint activities.
During the meeting, Minister B.Battsetseg emphasized that the Japanese minister’s visit allows for the two countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation. She also expressed deep gratitude to the government of Japan, which has supported Mongolia’s democracy, reform and sustainable development since the early 1990s, and for its assistance in overcoming challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mongolian side expressed its desire to introduce new Japanese technology and attract financing and investment to the priority sectors reflected in the New Revival Policy. Minister B.Battsetseg noted that there are opportunities to cooperate with Japan in establishing a free economic zone, a new satellite city, and building a hydrogen power plant. She pointed out that the Economic Partnership Agreement between Mongolia and Japan is beginning to yield results, for example, through increased bilateral trade turnover in recent years. She proposed holding a meeting of the relevant subcommittee in the near future to intensify the implementation of the agreement.
Minister Hayashi reaffirmed his commitment to further expanding the Mongolia-Japan strategic partnership.
He expressed his support for the “Billions of Trees” initiative and said that Japan has been exploring ways to support and cooperate in this regard. He also stressed the need to further develop cooperation in the field of climate change and the environment as an important part of the Mongolia-Japan Strategic Partnership.
During the talks, the two sides exchanged views on high-level reciprocal visits and events to be held in the near future and agreed to deepen and strengthen bilateral relations. In addition, they reaffirmed their commitment to work closely together to strengthen the stability of the Northeast Asian region.
Following the official talks, the foreign ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship. Since the start of the scholarship program in 2001, 360 young Mongolians have been trained for master’s and doctoral degrees at Japanese universities and this year, the government of Japan has decided to provide 263 million JPY in funding for the program.
During the visit, the parties reviewed the implementation of the Mongolia-Japan Mid-term Action Plan for a Strategic Partnership for 2017 through 2021 and concluded that it has been fully implemented.