The first Sports Festival for Children with Disabilities started in Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday. A total of 537 Mongolian children with disabilities are competing in eight different para-sports, including basketball, indoor field hockey and table tennis in the competition.

The three-day festival is being co-organised by the Mongolian and Chinese sport organisations and aims to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries in the sports sector. The festival will be held annually.

The Mongolian government’s action plan for 2016-2020 includes plans to build a sporting complex for use by people with disabilities using non-refundable aid from China.

Mongolia and China are set to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations in 2019.