Russian Defence Minister, Army General Sergey Shoigu is to make an official visit to Mongolia on 18 October at the invitation of his Mongolian counterpart N.Enkhbold.

Russia, Mongolia’s northern neighbour, renders non-refundable military and technical aid to Mongolia and enables Mongolian servicemen to study at military schools of Russia through soft loans and government scholarship quotas. It can be said that several generations of Mongolian officers have received their training in Russia, and previously, the Soviet Union. The two countries traditionally co-organize the annual “Selenge” military field exercise on each other’s territory.

The 62 year-old Russian minister has very close links with Mongolia; he was born in neighbouring Tuva, which shares much in common with Mongolia. Sergey Shoigu is Russia’s longest serving minister: from 1991-2012 he was in charge of the country’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, during which time he developed strong contacts with Mongolia’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).