On September 3, President of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh addressed the Eastern Economic Forum 2021 (EEF), held in Vladivostok, Russia from September 2 to 4.
He participated in the forum virtually in connection with the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After thanking the Russian President Vladimir Putin for inviting him to attend the forum, U.Khurelsukh remarked, “Mongolia is pleased to participate for the fourth time in the Eastern Economic Forum, which has been held six times since 2015. This is a proof of Mongolia’s high regard for the forum and an expression of its sincere desire to cooperate effectively and mutually beneficially with the countries of the region in the future.”
“I hope that the forum will play an important role in opening up new opportunities to combat the effects of the pandemic and crisis in the Far East and Asia and the Pacific, intensify economic and other cooperation in the region, and launch major mutually beneficial projects and programs,” he continued.
President U.Khurelsukh expressed his deep gratitude to Russia, China and India for supplying vaccines to Mongolia during a difficult phase of the pandemic as well as thanked the government of Japan for providing financial assistance to the country.
Highlighting that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Russia, the Mongolian head of state emphasized that all-round cooperation between the two countries, which has a rich history, will be further strengthened in the context of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement.
“Mongolia has always supported Russia’s ‘Greater Eurasian Partnership’ and China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiatives, and is willing to participate and cooperate in projects and programs to restore infrastructure, green growth and environmental degradation in our region,” the president noted.
“Based on the Vision 2050 Long-Term Development Policy, we strongly support mining, manufacturing, food production, agriculture, energy, tourism, small and medium enterprises, transportation and logistics, creative industries, and information technology. In this context, we look forward to working with countries in the Far East and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Taking advantage of its geographical location connecting Asia and Europe, Mongolia is striving to become a transit hub for transportation, trade and services. As investors and businesses from around the world are becoming increasingly interested in the Far East, Mongolia is confident that the establishment of a Trade Representative Office in Vladivostok will allow it to explore opportunities for more cooperation, expand economic activities in the region, and make an important contribution to future trade and economic cooperation, U.Khurelsukh emphasized during his speech at the forum.
The Trade Representative Office is responsible for expanding trade and economic relations between Mongolia and the Far East, increasing trade volume, attracting investment, and conducting market research.
“We are currently studying the possibility of concluding a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union. We believe that the agreement can play an important role in Mongolia’s participation in regional economic integration and reducing barriers to foreign trade,” the president said.
He mentioned that if the countries do not pay attention to environmental and ecological issues today and take substantial countermeasures, the frequency of extreme weather events and environmental degradation will likely increase, resulting in great damages to the sustainable economic development of countries and environment.
Mongolia aims to fully meet its domestic energy needs and become an energy exporter, and in this context, it has initiated cooperation with countries in the region to use renewable energy resources in the Gobi region and implement hydropower projects in the country.
The president continued, “Many factors, such as migration, climate change, ecological imbalances, and microbial evolution are increasing the risk of new and recurrent infections transmitted from animals to humans. At a time when the threat of cross-border communicable diseases is increasing, it is important to develop a mechanism for rapid information exchange and sharing experiences, and expand regional cooperation in order to strengthen preparedness for future pandemics.”
Closing his remarks, President U.Khurelsukh encouraged the forum’s organizers and partisans to discuss cooperation in the field of biosafety and pandemic prevention in the region as “strengthening the health care system will enable economic growth and turnover”.
