Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Chairman of the State Great Khural G.Zandanshatar and Speaker of the Senate of Canada George J. Furey today held official talks at the State House.

At the outset, the two sides reaffirmed their commitments to further expanding Mongolia-Canada friendly relations and cooperation and underscored that the relations between the two countries are developing based on the common values of democracy, human rights, and freedom.

While underscoring that Canada is an important “third neighbor” of Mongolia, Chairman G.Zandanshatar emphasized that the Speaker’s visit is of utmost importance in advancing the shared objectives of elevating the bilateral relations to “Comprehensive Partnership” and further strengthening mutual trust.

Speaker George J. Furey emphasized that he highly commends Mongolia’s experience of strengthening democratic governance that values human rights and freedom regardless of being landlocked and situated between the two powerful neighbors while expressing commitment to putting substantial efforts to intensify bilateral cooperation. He also highlighted the significance of increasing the frequency of high-level political dialogues.

In addition, they mutually affirmed the importance of all-round support from the higher legislative bodies of the two countries to ensure the implementation of the "Road Map of Mongolia-Canada Cooperation for Comprehensive Partnership" and advance the relationship to a new level.

The parties attach great importance to jointly celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Canada in 2023, and agreed to organize mutual visits, meetings, and events aimed at expanding people-to-people links within the framework of the anniversary.

Chairman G.Zandanshatar put forth a proposal to start a major development project within the framework of the diplomatic anniversary between Mongolia and Canada. He then voiced his interest in enriching and further intensifying cooperation in the mining sector as well as developing relations and cooperation in other mutually beneficial areas. He also asked to study the possibility of reducing import customs duties on Mongolian textile goods through the establishment of a free trade agreement and expressed willingness to increase cooperation in the fields of agriculture, environment, education, communication, and information technology. He then put forth a request to pay attention to the possibility of facilitating the issue of mutual travel visas between citizens in the development of education and economic relations.

Speaker George J. Furey voiced his commitment to further enhancing cooperation in the field of education, including the implementation of student exchange programs. He also stated that the proposals put forward in the framework of cooperation between the two sides are mutually beneficial and resourceful sectors, and he said that he will work to further activate the dialogue to intensify mutually beneficial trade, economic, and development relations. He then pointed out that the leadership of the Chairman of the State Great Khural played an important role in the successful implementation of the projects to strengthen the professional and citizen-centered civil service, ensure gender equality and empower civil society in Mongolia.