Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Speaker of the State Great Khural (Parliament) of Mongolia and Chairman of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) M.Enkhbold arrived in Moscow on December 14 to pay an official visit.

He started the visit with a meeting with the representatives of the United Russia political party. Mr Enkhbold was welcomed by Boris Gryzlov, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of United Russia. The sides touched upon the matters of cooperation between the two political parties.

At the very beginning, Mr Gryzlov  highlighted that Mongolia and the Mongolian people, who are close neighbors that share a long history of friendship and cooperation with Russia, are deeply respected. “The government and people of Russia never forget that the people of Mongolia has remained trusted friends and helped in the harshest times of World War II. We manifested such a respect by inviting the President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory in the WWII”, he underlined.

He also noted that the both sides share interests for prosperity, enhancing our economic potential and upgrading bilateral relations and cooperation, and added that the cooperation of two parties and inter-parliamentary collaboration play an important role in achieving these goals.

In the spirit of neighbors bonds, more than 30 projects covering a wide range of spheres, such as road, transport, energy and communication, are incorporated in an agreement on establishing Russia-Mongolia-China Economic Corridor, continued Mr Gryzlov. The ruling powers of both countries, the United Russia and the Mongolian People’s Party, should pay a particular attention to delivery of the above mentioned projects, he noted. Also, he added, the trade turnover needs to be increased from the dissatisfying amount of only USD 1.1 billion as of the previous year. However, the bilateral trade turnover exceeds six times that for 2000, said Mr Gryzlov.

The latter noted the United Russia has secured 343 seats in the State Duma out of the total 450 seats, after the elections held in September, and congratulated the MPP on an absolute victory in the last parliamentary elections. Political support is significant for broadening economic ties, he said and expressed his confidence that the two parties will accomplish much in this direction.

Speaker of Mongolian Parliament and MPP Chairman M.Enkhbold extended congratulations to Mr Gryzlov on the United Russia’s victory in the elections. He highlighted that the signing of the document after this meeting will be an important mark in the cooperation of two parties. “I paid a visit to Russia in January, when we have finalized the ‘great debt’, which brought a fresh air in bilateral business and economic relations”, he said.

Mr Enkhbold applauded Mr Gryzlov’s opinion on putting more focus on achieving tangible results from the negotiations between the three neighboring countries. Mentioning that the parties to the agreement have concerted to establish the Economic Corridor Think Tank in Ulaanbaatar, the Speaker expressed hope that the Russian side would render assistance.

He went on emphasizing an importance of promoting the youth and women’s NGOs of the parties. The youth union of our party has launched cooperation with the Molodaya Gvardiya, the youth institution under the United Russia. This is a brilliant start, he underlined and put forward a proposal on exchange of professionals and learning practices of the United Russia.

“It is vital for our two countries and strategic partners, who have rich tradition of cooperation, to exploit all unexplored potential of cooperation in order to upgrade the cooperation between the legislatures and businesses. I think that the two parties should play the key roles in accomplishing this”, said Mr Enkhbold.

The Deputy Secretary of the Supreme Council of the United Russia, Mr S.V.Jeleznyak and the head of the State Great Khural’s Standing Committee on State Structure, Mr N.Enkhbold gave addresses to the meeting, expressing their positions and views about the cooperation between political parties.

After this, the Chairmen of the two parties signed a cooperation document.