Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene paid a state visit to Japan from July 21 to 25.

On July 23, the prime minister, together with delegates taking part in the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympic Games, paid a courtesy call on Emperor of Japan Naruhito.

The prime minister extended his deepest respect and congratulations to Emperor Naruhito for formally declaring the opening of the Tokyo Olympics and noted his confidence that the strategic partnership and cooperation between Mongolia and Japan will be further strengthened during the Reiwa Era, which is the current era of Japan’s official calendar.

Emperor Naruhito noted his delight with meeting with the prime minister and talked about his memory of Mongolia and its people during his travel to Mongolia in 2007.

Premier L.Oyun-Erdene invited the emperor to visit Mongolia in 2022 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan.

During the event, the prime minister also met with first lady of the US Jill Biden and President of France Emmanuel Macron to talk about issues on Mongolia’s bilateral ties with the US and France, and a wide range of issues of mutual concerns.

On July 24, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene met with Japan’s Minister in charge of the government’s coronavirus response and economic revitalization Yasutoshi Nishimura and officials from Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases to exchange views on COVID-19 pandemic response.

PM DISCUSSES BILATERAL COOPERATION WITH JAPANESE COUNTERPART

On July 22, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene held official talks with Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting touched on the current state and future of Mongolia-Japan relations and a broad range of issues at international and regional levels.

At the meeting, Premier L.Oyun-Erdene confirmed Mongolia’s willingness to further develop the strategic partnership and cooperation with Japan, a third neighbor of Mongolia, in every possible area. Congratulating the government of Japan for successfully hosting the Olympic Games amid the challenging circumstances posed by the pandemic, the prime minister noted that the Olympics would serve as a historical symbol for the world in overcoming the pandemic.

He thanked for the government of Japan for its consistent support for Mongolia’s democracy, reform and sustainable development even during the COVID-19. The government of Japan’s assistance in vaccinating Mongolia’s youth against the coronavirus was highlighted at the meeting.

The Japanese premier expressed gratitude for the Mongolian prime minister for arriving in Japan during a time when the country is facing historic challenges of organizing the Olympics and for kicking off his foreign travels with Japan.

The sides agreed on the necessity to elevate economic, trade and investment cooperation to the next level on the basis of a solid foundation of bilateral political relations of Mongolia and Japan, and to strengthen the public private partnership.

The meeting covered issues concerning ongoing or proposed economic cooperation projects, including Mongolia’s new International Ulaanbaatar Airport recently opened in Khushig Valley, development of the region as a complex economic, information technology and tourism region, a highway development surrounding Ulaanbaatar aimed at reducing traffic congestion of the city, Bogdkhan railway development, intensifying the public-private partnership in information technology, training of engineers and cooperation in development of a feasibility study for a hydropower plant at coal deposits.

The two premiers agreed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, which is to be marked in 2022.

The Mongolian side also accepted with gratitude the Japanese prime minister’s proposal to declare 2022 as the year of friendship and exchanges between Mongolian and Japanese children and youth.

The two sides underscored the successful completion of the Mongolia-Japan mid-term action plan for a strategic partnership from 2017 to 2021 and set to agree on the contents of the next mid-term action plan from 2021 to 2025. The sides also mentioned Mongolia and Japan’s successful cooperation on international and regional fora and pledged further active cooperation within the framework of the United Nations and other multilateral organizations.

At the end of the meeting, Yoshihide Suga congratulated Mongolian sumo wrestler G.Gan-Erdene on becoming Japanese sumo’s new yokozuna, the sport’s highest rank.