On Wednesday, Mongolian Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Tsogtbaatar, held an official meeting with Ms. Sushma Swaraj who is the first Indian foreign minister to visit Mongolia in 42 years. At the meeting, the two sides discussed economic cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development, energy, services and IT and agreed to explore the possibility of launching a direct air link between New Delhi and the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. Ms. Sushma Swaraj said that India sees Mongolia as a factor of stability in East Asia and believes that the country’s social and economic development is important for peace and prosperity in the region.

The two sides also reviewed the progress in the ongoing collaborative projects, including the refinery project selected by the Government of Mongolia for implementation with the support of the USD one billion Indian credit line. She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘historic visit’ in 2015, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to Mongolia, provided a fresh impetus to the bilateral relations and qualitatively raised the level of the engagement.

During the two day visit, Indian Foreign Minister to attend the 6th round of the India-Mongolia Joint Consultative Committee meeting. Earlier, she commenced the day with a visit to Gandan Tegchenling Monastery, where she was welcomed by the chief abbott of Mongolian Buddhism, Hambo Lama D. Choijamts. Later in the day, the foreign minister is scheduled to address a gathering to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Buddhist Lama Kushok Bakula in Ulaanbaatar.

The total trade between the two countries stood at USD 25.6 million in 2016.