The United States, Japan, and Mongolia held a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on 26 April 2018. The participants reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan-Mongolia trilateral meeting as an important mechanism for the exchange of views on regional and multilateral cooperation and on mutually beneficial economic development.

During the meeting, Japan and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to their increased bilateral relationships with Mongolia in line with Mongolia’s “third neighbour” policy, and the three countries discussed potential avenues of cooperation to promote connectivity, good governance, and a rules-based international order throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The three sides welcomed the recent positive developments on the Korean Peninsula. They reaffirmed their commitment to maintain global pressure on North Korea, including the full implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions with the view to securing the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The three countries emphasized the importance of addressing humanitarian concerns, including the immediate resolution of the abductions issue.

Japan reconfirmed its continuing intention to engage in the international assistance package formulated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and expressed its hope for Mongolia’s steady efforts to keep its fiscal discipline. Japan also reiterated that the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport could be a new symbol of Japan-Mongolian cooperation and enhance connectivity between Mongolia and international community. Mongolia and Japan agreed to exert their joint efforts to accelerate the process to put the Airport into operation as early as possible.

The United States looks forward to the signing of a second compact between the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Government of Mongolia to increase bulk water supply and improve water sanitation in the city of Ulaanbaatar. The United States is pleased to have facilitated access to credit for Mongolian small and medium-sized enterprises through the USAID-funded REACH project and supported the development of Mongolia’s next generation of democratic leaders through the USAID-funded Leaders Advancing Democracy (LEAD) programme.

The participants also recognised the importance of Mongolia’s fully implementing the recommendations of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering to strengthen its ability to prevent money laundering and proliferation finance, and the three countries discussed expanding cooperation in this area.