PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA PAYS COURTESY CALL ON PRESIDENT KHALTMAAGIIN BATTULGA
Today, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga received Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Nak-yeon, who is paying an official visit to Mongolia.
President Battulga welcomed Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon to Mongolia and expressed his pleasure at meeting the latter again since their previous meeting during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon conveyed the cordial greetings of President Moon Jae-in to President Battulga.
2020 will mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the ROK. President Battulga suggested that the anniversary celebration should be a high level and productive event, while making a tangible proposal to establish a business council for young people of the two countries.
For instance, President Battulga emphasized that the establishment of the business council was fully possible with increased connectivity between young people of the two countries, given the existing business opportunities in the agriculture, food, and tourism sectors of Mongolia and the technological know-how of the ROK. President Battulga then presented to the Prime Minister projects and study reports that were conducted in this regard. President Battulga expressed his support towards the East Asian Railway Community Initiative, proposed by President Moon Jae-in, and remarked that the initiative held practical importance to regional infrastructure and Mongolia, a landlocked country.
Referring to his proposal to launch a joint working group on the ‘Northeast Asian Super Grid’ Project, which he made during the 4th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, last year, President Battulga briefly discussed the project and a relevant study on Mongolia’s potential to help reduce loads during peak hours in the ROK and Japan with its cost-efficient energy production from solar, wind, and coal sources. President Battulga highlighted the importance of such regional cooperation platforms in maintaining peace and strengthening trust in the region.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon expressed his readiness to work diligently towards upgrading the level of bilateral cooperation from comprehensive partnership to strategic partnership on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations and spoke about the number of events that were being planned in scope of the anniversary.
In particular, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon assured President Battulga that the above-mentioned projects, as well as aviation matters would be discussed in depth and asked the latter to pay close attention to these matters as well. The Prime Minister also expressed his support towards the President’s proposal to establish a business council for young people, while communicating his readiness to pay attention to its implementation through the corresponding institutions.
During the meeting, President Battulga also brought to attention the matter of visa issued by the ROK. For instance, Mongolian citizens travel to the ROK for a short period and return to Mongolia, however, they face difficulties at the time of reapplication for visa. President Battulga asked Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon to pay close attention to the matter of issuing visa to citizens who didn’t violate the terms of their visas during their stay in the ROK.
At the end of the meeting, President Battulga wished success to Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon’s official visit to Mongolia and conveyed greetings to his counterpart.
