Three main issues were touched on during the official talks between Vietnam’s Vice President and Prime Minister of Mongolia, he said. “The first issue was the promotion of bilateral cooperation in defense and between the institutions of special function. Vietnam has a population of 95 million, ranks at the 14th place in the world by the size of its population. Vietnam has remained a key partner of Mongolia in the Southeast Asia since establishing diplomatic ties in 1954. The role of Vietnam in the region has been increasing as its economy has been growing rapidly in the recent years. For this year, Vietnam is chairing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Mongolia has been requesting Vietnam to support Mongolia’s efforts to strengthen ties with APEC”, said the Foreign Minister.

“The second issue was promoting the commercial and economic cooperation. Trade turnover between Mongolia and Vietnam reaches only about USD 45 million. The Agreement on Veterinarian and Quarantine Cooperation, signed in April, opened a possibility for Mongolia to export meat and meat products to Vietnam. As a tropical country, the Vietnam’s side is interested in importing goat meat, which is more suitable in warm climates, from Mongolia. In 2017, Mongolia will pilot-export 20 tons of goat meat to Vietnam. If this goes successful, the number can be increased up to over 200 tons. Our side is also studying feasibilities to import frozen sea products”.

“The third issue was promoting tourism. As of today, a little over 60 Mongolian students are studying in Vietnam, and 30 Vietnamese students are studying in Mongolia. The sides agreed that it is time to increase the size of government grants for exchange students”, concluded FM Ts.Munkh-Orgil.
B.Amarsaikhan