Ulaanbaatar
Speaker M.Enkhbold meets Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
PoliticsUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On March 28, Parliament Speaker M.Enkhbold, who is on a visit to Japan, met with Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. PM Shinzo Abe said that the Midterm program on Strategic Partnership of Mongolia and Japan, expected to be signed during the visit, will define near-future perspectives of the friendly relations and cooperation of the two countries.
Mr. Abe also appreciated the fact that Mongolia has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to implement a program on economic and financial reform. Then he stated that Japan is ready to render soft loan of up to USD850 million within the framework of the program. The amount of this loan almost equals to total soft loans granted by Japanese Government since the Mongolia’s transition to democracy and market economy. Japan has granted aid and loans of USD3 billion to Mongolia, of which USD1 billion was soft loans.
Speaker M.Enkhbold expressed his gratitude to Mr. Abe for his contribution to developing and strengthening friendly relations of Mongolia and Japan as well as to securing peace in the world and security and stability in the region. He also thanked for the Japanese Government for its decision on granting soft loan of USD850 million, briefing that the Mongolian Parliament intends to discuss a bill on budget amendment in the beginning of its spring session and approve it by April 12, ensuring the IMF program implementation.
Moreover, the Speaker touched on issues on some big projects possible to be jointly implemented by the two countries. “- We consider it as important to realize a project to build industrial complex of gas, chemical and oil substitute production using coal. Mongolia is rich in coal and solar and wind energy sources and has possibility to generate energy using those source, to join unified energy network of the North East Asia and supply energy to the countries of the region. We would like to implement these projects in collaboration with Japan”. He requested to pay attention on exports of copper, iron ore and fluoride from Mongolia to Japan.
In response, PM Abe said that it is possible to send experts’ team for research and drawing conclusion, when feasibility studies of the coal-chemical industrial complex and other preparations are ready.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. M.Enkhbold and Sh.Abe confirmed their position to support each other at international arena and expressed the two sides share the same viewpoint on security and cooperation issues of the region.
