Foreign Ministers of Mongolia and Laos hold official talks

Politics
e.erdenejargal@montsame.gov.mn
2022-09-05 14:15:17

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR Saleumxay Kommasith paid an official visit to Mongolia on September 3-5.

 

As part of the visit, official talks were held between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries on September 4.

 

During the official talks, they agreed to define the prospects for the development of the relations between the two countries in the new sixty years and the direction of cooperation, and further expand and strengthen them.

 

Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg emphasized that the visit is significant for being held within the framework of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Laos and the first visit at the level of Foreign Minister since 2002, while underscoring that the visit will be a major impetus for the expansion of future relations and cooperation.

 

Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith expressed his satisfaction with his first visit to Mongolia as part of the diplomatic anniversary, and thanked the people of Mongolia for their warm and friendly welcome.



Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg noted that relations and cooperation with Southeast Asian countries play an important role in Mongolia's foreign policy towards the Asia-Pacific region. She also expressed her willingness to deepen traditional friendly relations and cooperation with Laos, a member of ASEAN, to activate political dialogue, and to expand and develop mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, culture, and other fields.

 

The parties reviewed the past sixty years of cooperation between Mongolia and Laos and discussed future prospects. The parties exchanged views on issues such as expanding and developing economic and investment cooperation, increasing the volume and variety of export and import goods, cooperation in the fields of agricultural production, and food and food production. It was also agreed to support business ties and intensify cooperation between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two countries.

 

The parties discussed paying more attention to the development of priority areas of the economy such as transport logistics, tourism, and agriculture. In this context, an exchange of views took place on efficient cooperation in the field of railway transport and logistics in line with the development policies of the two countries.


While congratulating the Government of Laos on commissioning of the railway connecting Vientiane, capital of Laos, and Kunming, a city of China, Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg highlighted the significant role of Laos in reducing transportation and logistics barriers and connecting Central Asia and Northeast Asia with Southeast Asia by land. In the future, it was agreed to start tripartite cooperation between Mongolia, Laos, and China's central government agencies in charge of road and transport issues, and to work together in the direction of establishing a transit agreement within the framework of creating a legal framework.



Moreover, in order to increase the opportunities for cooperation in the air transport sector, and to strengthen the legal framework for the development of passenger and cargo transport, the parties agreed to finalize and establish a draft agreement on air transport between the governments of the two countries in the near future.


The parties discussed intensifying cooperation in the field of environment, climate change, and tourism. The Lao side supports the Mongolia’s initiatives to combat climate change and desertification, such as the ‘One Billion Trees’ national movement, and agreed to intensify cooperation in line with the goal of afforestation of 70 percent of the total area or 16.6 million hectares by the year 2025.

 

The Mongolian Foreign Minister emphasized that the Laos was one of the first countries to join the multilateral agreement to establish the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries. The sides expressed their commitment to keep supporting each other at international arenas.

 

Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith reiterated to support Mongolia in becoming a dialogue partner of ASEAN and becoming a member of APEC. The two sides exchanged views on other regional and international issues of mutual interest.


During the visit, the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on cooperation" and “Agreement between the Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia and the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on Student Exchange in 2022-2027", were signed respectively.


In connection with the grant of 1050 sheep as humanitarian aid by the Government of Mongolia to the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Laos in 2018, the Lao President issued a decree on May 6, 2019 to award the ‘Friendship’ medal to the Government of Mongolia. During this visit, Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith presented the medal to his Mongolian counterpart.

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