President of Mongolia U. Khurelsukh paid a state visit to Japan on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan. The President held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, received courtesy call from the leaders of both houses of the Japanese parliament, and paid courtesy call His Majesty the Emperor Naruhito of Japan. Two sides issued a joint statement on the results of the visit. Japan is one of the closest neighbors and have steadfastly supported Mongolia since the country transitioned into a democratic system and a free market economy in 1990, sharing common values as democracy, human rights, and freedom.
The chief of the President’s Office Ya. Sodbaatar concluded, this visit was “an important event that defined the road map of relations and cooperation between the two countries for the next decade and brought relations into a new level.” To clarify the new stage, the two countries have been developing comprehensive partnership since 1998 and strategic partnership since 2010. During the visit of President U. Khurelsukh, the relationship between the two countries advanced to a new stage called “Special Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity”. In other words, Japan is the first country to have a Special Strategic Partnership with Mongolia.
In the framework of the above mentioned Special Strategic Partnership, in the next 10 years, both parties agreed to develop cooperation in 4 main directions as follows.
1. Political and security cooperation
2. Economic, trade and investment cooperation
3. “People-centered” development and mutual exchange between citizens
4. Cooperation on common global issues
Both sides mutually confirmed their cooperation within the framework of the United Nations and other international organizations, and the Japanese side expressed its support for the “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue” initiative on the issue of peace and stability in Northeast Asia. In addition, Japan expressed its support for “Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status” and Mongolia expressed its support for the “Hiroshima Action Plan” on the issue of nuclear disarmament.
During the visit, the parties discussed the issue of improving the economic benefits of the Free Trade Agreement, bringing cooperation in the areas of economy, trade and investment to a new level. Moreover, by agreeing on a 10-year medium-term plan for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, certain solutions were made to increase the trade turnover of Japan and Mongolia and develop business cooperation between the public and private sectors. During the visit, the 10th joint consultation meeting between the public and private sectors of Mongolia and Japan was held, and Mongolian businessmens signed 6 major contracts with Japanese companies.
The parties agreed to start a large-scale study and development of a feasibility study on the development of coal-chemical industry in Mongolia. Specifically, joint research will be conducted to extract hydrogen, fuel, gas, diesel fuel and other products from coal.
In addition, two sides agreed to cooperate in the development of diversification of Mongolia’s economy, including increasing agricultural production, exploring the possibility of cooperation in the field of mineral resources, including the exploration and extraction of rare earth elements, and balanced development of urban and rural areas. This visit of the President was an event where both Mongolia and Japan expressed their desire to intensify cooperation and create a new history in the next half century.
