Events

ULAANBAATAR, 4 September (BelTA) - Belarus and Mongolia signed an intergovernmental agreement on the abolition of visas, BelTA has learnt.

The document was signed during an official visit of a government delegation of Belarus headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich to Mongolia. In addition, the heads of government of the two countries signed the joint communique. The parties also concluded intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in education, on military and technical cooperation, and on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters.

The Belarusian Prime Minister met with Mongolian counterpart Norovyn Altankhuyag. This is the first visit by a head of government since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992. According to the Premiers, this will expand the horizons for the all-round bilateral cooperation and will contribute to the development of the friendly relations between the two countries.

“Today, thanks to the efforts of the governments of the two countries, and commercial organizations, economic contacts and projects of Belarus and Mongolia are developing quite successfully. The potential is much higher than the current level of trade turnover,” said Mikhail Myasnikovich. “Therefore, we would like to propose to Mongolia the strategy of cooperation that is somewhat different from the traditional one. We believe that the trade cooperation should be complemented by investment efforts. We need to ensure the appropriate financing mechanisms, investment, export credit, project financing,” the Belarusian head of government added. According to him, this will allow the partners to make strides in the development of trade, economic and investment projects.

The Mongolian side expressed its interest to develop more intensive cooperation with Belarus, in particular in industry and agriculture. Norovyn Altankhuyag proposed to organize a joint venture to manufacture food products. He voiced interest of the Mongolian side to develop cooperation with Belarus in education and science, and a number of other areas.

“We came to a mutual decision to support the initiatives of private business who is going to establish joint ventures to assemble and manufacture mining equipment and plan to export agricultural products from Mongolia in Belarus,” the Mongolian head of government said. According to him, Belarus expressed its willingness to import the products of the cashmere and wool industry.

The Belarusian head of government stated that Belarus is committed to long-term cooperation with Mongolia. "We are pleased that these approaches are supported by its government. I believe that our joint projects will be included in the government programs, which would contribute to the progress of our joint ventures in Mongolian market (especially at the initial stage),” Mikhail Myasnikovich said.

The Prime Minister of Belarus noted that the parties aim for the joint partnership that will benefit both Belarus and Mongolia.

At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister of Belarus invited Mongolian head of Government Norovyn Altankhuyag to pay an official visit to Belarus.

As was reported, the government delegation of Belarus headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich is in Mongolia on an official visit from 3 to 5 September. On 5 September, the Belarusian head of government is scheduled to take part in the opening ceremony of the National Expo of the Republic of Belarus and the Belarusian-Mongolian Business Forum.