(Photo: Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mongolia visited Singapore from 5th to 8th June 2019 and gave the RSIS Distinguished Public Lecture on Mongolia’s foreign policy towards Asia

MINISTER Tsogtbaatar called on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat, and met Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. During his visit, Minister Tsogtbaatar also delivered the keynote speech at the Singapore-Mongolia Business Dialogue co-organised by the Singapore Business Federation and the Embassy of Mongolia.
In his meeting with his Singapore counterpart, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, they reaffirmed the warm and friendly bilateral relations and also looked forward to the entry into force of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA).

Minister Tsogtbaatar also gave a S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Distinguished Public Lecture on the country’s foreign policy towards Asia. An abstract from his RSIS lecture on 7th June 2019 stated: “Over the past 20 years, Mongolia has transformed into a vibrant multiparty democracy with a booming economy. It has advanced from an aid recipient to an active player in the international arena due to its progressive cooperation with the international community and the role of the UN and other multilateral architectures. Mongolia aims to promote a balanced relationship with both immediate and the Third Neighbours, to extend the scope of relations bearing in mind not to become economically and politically overly reliant on any country. Beyond our immediate neighbours, expanding relations with the Third Neighbours as a means to diversifying its foreign relations is imperative for a landlocked small country. Mongolia is at the threshold of a major transformation driven by the exploitation of its vast mineral resources, including mining which makes up 20 percent of the GDP today; twice that of a decade ago. Today, Mongolia is a transit hub for 1.5bn people in China and Russia. Using the geographical advantage, Mongolia is planning to become the shortest transit link that connects Asia
and Europe.”