MEETING WITH OLAUG BOLLESTAD, MINISTER OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE OF THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga today met Olaug Bollestad, Minister of Food and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Norway, and discussed matters pertaining to bilateral agricultural cooperation.
According to Ms. Bollestad, the recent technological innovation in the agriculture sector has been the main driving factor of increased agricultural productivity in Norway. Moreover, the activities of a research center, the function of which is to introduce scientific discoveries in agriculture, has given impetus to the application of latest technology and sharing of this knowledge.
There have been no cases of foot-and-mouth disease in Norway since 1953 and of murrain in pigs since 1960. The Minister said that it demonstrated the level of the development of agriculture sector in the country, while expressing willingness to work with Mongolia in the areas of livestock and animal health and veterinary medicine.
Carlos das Neves, Director for Research and Internationalisation at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, presented a report to President Battulga and Minister Bollestad about animal health and veterinary institutes in Mongolia, which was produced as the result of a study conducted by a team from the Institute during their trip to Mongolia in 2019. The sides agreed to work together in these areas.
President Battulga expressed Mongolia’s interest in expanding bilateral ties at all levels in order to adopt Norwegian agricultural technology and equipment through different phases aside from the field of animal health. The President also expressed his view that it was possible for the two countries to broaden bilateral ties in a short amount of time by setting up a joint company, given the fact that relevant studies on processing and exporting cashmere, wool, and meat, which are the main export products from the agriculture sector of Mongolia, have been conducted and concluded.