Mr Stefano Sannino, Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) will be visiting Mongolia between 4-7 July. Secretary General Sannino will have the opportunity to meet with country’s senior government officials and representatives of civil society to discuss the way forward for expanding Mongolia and EU close partnership. The EU and Mongolia have developed strong bilateral relations over the past decades. This is the first high-level visit to Mongolia since 2018, after the outbreak of COVID-19.

The objective of the Secretary General’s meetings is to take stock of relations between the EU and Mongolia, and to discuss global geopolitical challenges, peacekeeping and multilateralism.

Secretary General Stefano Sannino said “I am honoured and delighted for my first working visit to Mongolia. Mongolia and the European Union may be geographically distant, but close at heart. The two share the common values of democracy, human rights and rule of law. The EU is proud to be Mongolia’s third neighbour. I look forward to discovering more about the beautiful country and exploring opportunities to strengthen EU and Mongolia relations, especially in women in peacekeeping and security, and discuss on global geopolitical challenges and regional issues.”

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1989, EU and Mongolia have strengthened the partnership in various sectors and worked towards sustainable development together. Over the past years, EU-Mongolia bilateral relations have expanded exponentially, even more after opening the Delegation office in Ulaanbaatar in 2017.

The EEAS is the diplomatic services at the EU that carries out the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy to promote peace, prosperity, security, and the interests of the European Union across the globe. As the Secretary General of the EEAS, Stefano Sannino provides strategic direction to the work of the service and an effective coordination on foreign policy between headquarter and the Delegations, with the EU institutions, with Member States counterparts, and with third countries through political dialogue.

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European countries. It is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. It acts globally to promote sustainable development of societies, environment and economies, so that everyone can benefit.