Conversation with Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene

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.