OFFICIAL TALKS BETWEEN THE HEADS OF STATE OF MONGOLIA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga held official talks with President of the United States of America Donald Trump on July 31, 2019.
From the Mongolian side, attendees of the bilateral talks included D.Tsogtbaatar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, D.Oyunkhorol, Head of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Policy, Education, Culture, and Science, Z.Narantuya, Member of Parliament, Yo.Otgonbayar, Ambassador of Mongolia to the U.S., Z.Enkhbold, Chief of Staff to the President of Mongolia, and A.Gansukh, Secretary of the National Security Council.
From the U.S. side, those in attendance included Mike Pence, Vice President, John Bolton, National Security Advisor, Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council, Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense, and Mark Green, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as members of the Congress.
At the beginning of the talks, President Trump remarked that Mongolia was a country of great warriors and mentioned that the two leaders had had a great exchange on Mongolian-made cashmere products during their one-on-one meeting, saying that bilateral dialogue will continue on this matter as the corresponding officials are instructed.
The U.S. Congressmen including Representative Ted Yoho proposed the Mongolia Third Neighbor Trade Act legislative bill, which aims to authorize duty free treatment of Mongolian cashmere and other textile garments exports to the United States. President Battulga expressed full support towards the bill and a firm position that the bill needs to be backed by the heads of state on both sides and requested assistance.
President Battulga also emphasized his view that despite of extensive bilateral cooperation in defense, culture, and humanitarian spheres, it was necessary to pay close attention to the unsatisfactory state of bilateral trade turnover and economic relations.
While discussing the above-mentioned matter concerning economic relations, the sides had a warm exchange on the first diplomatic encounters between the two countries and agreed to issue a declaration on Strategic Partnership between Mongolia and the United States of America at the conclusion of the talks.
During the talks, Vice President Mike Pence appreciated the fact that the U.S. is Mongolia’s third neighbor and extended special gratitude to the Mongolian Armed Forces for its engagement in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan.
