Exclusive interview with Mongolian FM on bilateral relationship

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Mongolian Minister of Foreign Affairs Damdin Tsogtbaatar said his first visit since the establishment of the new Mongolian administration lays very good ground for starting bilateral cooperation.

Tsogtbaatar made his remark during an exclusive interview with CGTN about China-Mongolia bilateral ties, and other issues, on Tuesday.

He highly praised his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday, saying that a very good feature of the bilateral ties is continuity, and both China and Mongolia maintain it in their foreign policies and activities.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) holds talks with visiting Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar in Beijing, capital of China, December 4, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

The Mongolian foreign minister said both countries will be building a relationship for what has already been achieved, and in order to keep the best parts of it, they should be moving ahead.

Tsogtbaatar stressed that Mongolia is bringing its own initiatives to deepen bilateral cooperation, like those concrete measures in building the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Mongolia has identified 32 projects along the corridor, and out of these 32, the country prioritizes three. The minister said that in the nearest future, Mongolia wants to focus more on railway, highway, and infrastructure development.

Tsogtbaatar also talked about General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xi Jinping's initiative of building a community with a shared future for mankind. He praised China’s role in it, saying it’s really an important responsibility, and Mongolia welcomes it.

When asked about whether Mongolia is planning to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to boost regional security and development, Tsogtbaatar said Mongolia is not stagnating in thinking, and the country’s prime minister already gave instructions to assess Mongolia’s participation in the SOC, and to come up with recommendation about what to do next, based on hard evidence.