Mongolian Defence Minister N.Enkhbold has is taking part in the UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference (27-29 March). On the sidelines of the conference, N.Enkhbold has held a meeting with Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations and Jean-Pierre Lacroix, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations in order to discuss Mongolia’s role and future goals in peacekeeping operations.

Mongolia first signed an MoU with the United Nations in 1999 and joined the UN peacekeeping programme in 2002 with the deployment of two unarmed military observers to the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.  Since then, nearly 11,000 Mongolian soldiers have successfully served on peacekeeping operations. Mongolia has risen to become the 27th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping, with nearly 900 military and police personnel deployed in five operations.