President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe held officials talks and signed a Joint Statement.

Prime Minister Abe said at the outset of the talks: “I am glad that President Elbegdorj is participating in Mongolia-Japan Business Forum, co-organized by KEIDANREN, Japan Federation of Economic Organizations. I am also glad that, under Your leadership, Mr. President, we have agreed in principle to establish an economic partnership agreement. The bilateral relations between Japan and Mongolia have attained high levels and I am confident that our cooperation will further expand and deepen”.

President Elbegdorj:”Our bilateral relations reinvigorated and expanded since Your visit, Mr. Prime Minister, to Mongolia last year. I am glad that the constructive ideas and proposals that You have set forward are being successfully realized and implemented. Thanks to relentless efforts and cooperation of our governments we have reached an agreement in principle on establishing the Economic Partnership Agreement. I do share Your confidence that the Economic Partnership Agreement will create a favorable business and investment environment and establish a stable legal framework. I do believe that our two parties can sign and ratify the Agreement in the first quarter of 2015”.

After the talks, President Elbegdorj and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed a Joint Statement affirming the agreement in principle to establish an Economic Partnership Agreement between Mongolia and Japan and to promote trade and investment between the two countries. A press briefing followed the signing of the Joint Statement.

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe:”I am earnestly delighted to host President Elbegdorj in Japan. Mr. President and I are unanimous about the need to deepen economic relations in order to strengthen our strategic partnership. We have just signed a Joint Statement which highlights the following three principles.

First, we commend the successful holding of talks on Economic Partnership Agreement and reaching an agreement in principle. The Japan-Mongolia Economic Partnership Agreement shall mark the 15th EPA for Japan after the recently signed one with Australia. It is the first Economic Partnership Agreement for Mongolia, and it is a very important one to elevate our economic relations to higher levels, promoting mutually complementary cooperation. In the near term, we shall work together to expedite the signing and ratification of the Japan-Mongolia EPA.

Second, I put forward the ERCH Plus initiative, aimed at supporting industrial diversification and export promotion in Mongolia, and the initiative was supported. I proposed this cooperation initiative during my visit to Mongolia in March last year. This initiative will help expanding value-added and competitive exports.

Third, accepting the request to cooperate in conducting economic structural reforms and implementing transparent and stable economic policies, Japan proposed appointing an economic advisor. Through such a mechanism, we will be able to contribute to Mongolia’s mid- and long-term economic policy development.

We are committed to strengthening mutually beneficial, mutually complementary strategic partnership with Mongolia”.

President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj:”H.E. Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and I have just held officials talks, in nice and friendly atmosphere. I am profoundly happy that the strategic partnership between our two countries is being fortified with wider economic partnership content. The Economic Partnership Agreement which the two parties agreed in principle, will provide a firm and stable legal environment to boost bilateral economic and investment ties. In our economic relations, we propose to explore the opportunities together, to produce together and to aspire markets together.

Under this spirit, today we held a large business summit in Tokyo. Mongolian economy, our investment environment and opportunities were widely featured at the summit, which brought together close to 500 businessmen of the Mongolian and Japanese private sectors.
Mongolia’s bilateral relations with Japan are one of Mongolia’s foreign policy priorities, which are fully consistent with our national interests, with our development interests”.