Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene (retranslated):I would like to express our deep gratitude to you, Mr President Vladimir Putin, for coming here to our country on an official visit. You are also taking part in celebrations marking the 85th anniversary of the joint victory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.
Three parties gained the majority of seats after theninth election to the State Great Khural, and they created a coalition government that I was appointed to lead as Prime Minister. After being appointed Prime Minister, I visited the two areas we would like to develop.
Our Mongolian and Soviet fighters defended the sovereignty and independence of our two nations, securing a victory and a historic date for our countries. I believe it is important for current and future generations to have proper understanding of the historical significance of this event.
Also, in connection with the 85th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, the list for the government’s activities for the next four years was supplemented by such large-scale projects as building a tourist cluster at Buir Lake in the area of the Khalkhin Gol river. For that cluster, we want to, first of all, build a 70-km road connecting the Khalkhin Gol with this lake, and also a new small aircraft airport. This cluster would serve to cover the historic event so that tourists can come and learn about our history.
I believe that we could establish this cluster to mark the 90th anniversary of our joint victory at Khalkhin Gol and it would be significant to honour the memories of our ancestors that way.
We have been informed that talks with the President of Mongolia went well and were fruitful. The two sides have already achieved tangible results and signed several important cooperation documents, including on establishing a joint working group which would enable our experts and researchers to work on building a hydropower plant on the Egiin Gol river. There were also documents dealing with proposals and efforts to carry out a project to upgrade and expand TPP-3. In addition to this, there are intergovernmental agreements to ensure stable supplies of oil products from Russia to Mongolia.
We got to see our old friends – Mr Sechin is here. We would like to thank him for his fruitful work. There is also the Russian Chair of the Russia-Mongolia Intergovernmental Commission [Alexander Kozlov], who has been very proactive and effective in his efforts. We are glad to welcome all of them and extend our gratitude for this fruitful work and its results.
Once again, I would like to say that the intergovernmental commission has been very effective and responsive, especially after Mr Kozlov was appointed Russian co-chair. We were able to gain substantial momentum and pick up a higher pace, reaching a whole new level in terms of coordinating our plans and working with our Russian partners. We would like to thank Mr Kozlov for his efforts.
When I attended the Eastern Economic Forum, Mr Mishustin and I discussed ways of further improving the way our intergovernmental commission operates. Russia appointed its new co-chair for the commission right after this conversation. He has recently visited our country and met with the new cabinet. Moreover, he compiled a plan of measures and projects, which we discussed with our new chair of the Mongolia-Russia Intergovernmental Commission. This way, they can monitor every project and every effort, and stages of their implementation.
Recently, we have faced shortage of oil products here in Mongolia, including petrol. In addition, we had to restrict power supply, although we did not waste much time and were able to overcome these challenges quite quickly thanks to the efforts by our ministers in charge of the intergovernmental commission’s work. I would like to emphasise this one more time.
We know that during your today’s talks with our President you have already done a great deal and achieved tangible results, so I will not elaborate further to save time. First, I would like to learn about your perspective, and after that I will voice my observations and proposals on three matters.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister,
In fact, you and I had a meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok back in 2022. Even at that time we stressed that the relations between our countries rest on an extremely solid foundation.
Today, Russia views Mongolia as a priority country in terms of expanding our relations. We have been proactive in our political contacts, as well as in terms of our scientific, cultural, and educational exchanges. Our foreign ministries and security agencies have been working together and keeping in touch with one another.
As for our trade and economic ties, we do appreciate the fact that the Government of Mongolia and you personally have been pushing for consistent efforts to further strengthen our relations.
You can directly contact the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation [Mikhail Mishustin]. I hope that all corresponding agencies on both sides will work closely together.
It is true that the President of Mongolia and I had very fruitful talks. Several agreements were signed.
Let me note that bilateral trade increased by 21 percent in the first seven months of this year. Of course, our main goal consists of diversifying our economic ties.
I welcome the way you assessed the work of the intergovernmental commission and its Russian side. We have a lot of potential for expanding our cooperation in manufacturing, agriculture, energy and transport. We will also continue promoting and facilitating interregional ties.
Thank you for your warm reception.