JOINT DECLARATION BETWEEN MONGOLIA AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION
At the invitation of President of Mongolia Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd paid a State Visit to Mongolia on August 2-4, 2024.
The State visit of President Viola Amherd marks the first-ever visit from the Swiss side at the Presidential level and symbolizes a significant milestone to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Switzerland this year.
The historic anniversary motto, “Mongolia and Switzerland for Peace” is a testimony to the foreign policy agenda of the two countries as well as their bilateral relations, with a shared dedication to fostering mutual respect and understanding, and a long-standing commitment to promoting global peace and stability.
Both sides welcomed the progressive partnership between the two countries based on the shared values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the respect for the principles of the UN Charter.
Consolidating Mongolia’s peaceful, open, independent and multi-pillared foreign policy, including its Third neighbor policy, and Switzerland’s global commitments and long-standing efforts to advance peace, security and sustainable development, and to promote effective multilateralism, the two sides declared their intention to further develop their bilateral cooperation as follows:
• To pursue bilateral cooperation in political, socio-economic and humanitarian fields i.e. economy, trade, investment, sustainable development and mitigation of climate change, the conservation of nature as well as science and culture;
• To encourage mutual high-level visits, political consultations and active engagement between the respective legislative bodies of Switzerland and Mongolia;
• To advocate the values of democracy, the rule of law and good governance as well as to support cooperation between democratic parliamentary institutions and civil society, including continued support by Switzerland for Mongolia’s efforts to strengthen its judicial and legal reform. In addition, they declared their intention to continue their work on concluding the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty;
• Bearing in mind commitments to multilateralism, to strengthen the cooperation within the United Nations and other international organizations to advance the global agenda, including peace, security, international law and sustainable development. In this context, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to dialogue for ensuring international and regional security and declared their intention to further promote their initiatives such as the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security as well as the Zermatt Roundtable on security issues in Northeast Asia;
• To cooperate in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the Paris Agreement on climate change, particularly in mitigating climate change and green house emission through their Nationally Determined Contributions. In this context, Switzerland welcomed Mongolia’s commitment to host the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP17) in Ulaanbaatar in 2026 as well as the “Billion Tree” national movement of Mongolia;
• To promote broadening economic and investment collaboration, bearing in mind the objectives of Mongolia’s long-term development agenda “Vision-2050”, including the improvement of sustainable business, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as cooperation in the agriculture and tourism sectors. In this regard, Mongolia expressed its profound gratitude to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for its valuable support and humanitarian assistance contributed to Mongolia’s development agenda in many areas such as medical services, rural development, vocational education, improvement of livelihoods and fostering sustainable development, as well as governance;
• To continue current efforts to collaborate in the field of agriculture with a focus on sustainable farming practices, livestock management, and food security, through the development of joint projects aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and supporting rural development in Mongolia;
• To continue the cooperation in the humanitarian fields, including pediatric medical support to the region through Mongolian cardiologists and the consolidation of the Mongolian earthquake response capacity through collaboration between the National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia (NEMA) and the Swiss Humanitarian Aid;
• To further promote the cooperation in public health, including pandemic preparedness, strengthening of the overall healthcare system, and medical research and exchanges between healthcare professionals;
• To welcome the cooperation in education and science based on a bottom-up and holistic approach as well as the interests of the stakeholders. In this context, Mongolia expressed its interest to increase the number of students studying in Switzerland through its initiative “Mission 2100”;
• To collaborate in promoting sustainable tourism, including development of winter sports and tourism through the exchange of expertise and joint trainings;
• Recognizing the importance of cultural and sport exchanges, to further promote their cooperation in culture. In this context, the two sides expressed their support for the exhibition on Mongolian history at Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland, scheduled for 2025.