Ulaanbaatar
Consultation held between Foreign Ministries of Mongolia and South Africa
Politics
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/
The second consultative meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Mongolia and Department of International Relations and Cooperation of the
Republic of South Africa was held in Pretoria, South Africa on January 30.
At the
meeting, the sides discussed the current state of bilateral relations, opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation in mining, agriculture, education and
culture sectors, as well as regional and international issues of common
interest.
The South African
side expressed its readiness to share the country's achievements and experience in the mining
industry with Mongolia, support Mongolia in introducing the technology for
converting coal to liquid gas, and collaborate on the capacity building of
mining professionals.
The sides
also exchanged views on possibilities of deepening economic cooperation, emphasizing
the importance of establishing direct cooperation between the chambers of
commerce and industry of the two countries, increasing partnerships between private companies, and having their representatives participate in international conferences
and other events they are hosting.
It was
agreed to work on establishing intergovernmental agreements on bilateral
cooperation in veterinary medicine and mutual visa exemption for diplomatic and
official passport holders.
Moreover, South Africa
– 2020 Chair of the African Union – showed its willingness to actively
cooperate with Mongolia to successfully cope with the common challenges faced
by African and other developing countries.
The meeting
was co-chaired by D.Davaasuren, State Secretary at the Mongolian Foreign
Ministry and Anil Sooklal, Deputy Director-General for Asia and the Middle East
at DIRCO.
In 2019,
Mongolia’s trade with South Africa amounted to USD 7.3 million, of which USD 2.6
million or around one third was made up of exports of Mongolian knitwear,
cashmere items, and other goods.
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