On Friday (8 Jan), Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan) reiterated India’s commitment towards the timely completion of the Mongol Refinery Project. This assurance was made during a virtual meeting with L.Oyun-Erdene, MP, Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary of Mongolia and Co-Chair of the India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation.

Bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbons and steel sectors were comprehensively reviewed in the meeting, an official statement added.

The Indian Minister also expressed willingness to further share India’s expertise in the oil and gas sector, including capacity building in line with Mongolia’s developmental priorities. He expressed appreciation for the support in facilitating approvals for the expeditious implementation of the greenfield Mongol Refinery Project, built under a Line of Credit from the Government of India, and their commitment to setting up a pipeline to transport crude to the refinery being built near the city of Sainshand.

The Minister also welcomed the eagerness of Mongolian mining companies in supplying coking coal to the Indian steel industry and agreed to advance mutual benefitial cooperation. “We look forward to substantial partnerships with Mongolian companies in the areas of minerals, coal and steel.”, he added.