Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga and the two leaders discussed a range of issues of bilateral interest, including the strengthening of cultural, spiritual and people-to-people ties. Prime Minister Modi met the Mongolian president on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) which is being held in the Russian Far East. Development partnership and other areas of bilateral cooperation were discussed,” external affairs ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

The Mongolian President is slated to come on a state visit to India later this month. A number of projects were discussed – particularly the assistance India is currently giving to build a major oil refinery in Mongolia – also the ‘only’ oil; refinery – to meet its energy needs through a line of credit,” he said. “A number of people-to-people issues were discussed including culture, and the spiritual connection. The President specially said he was looking forward to his visit to Bodh Gaya in Bihar, in addition to Delhi as well as to Bangalore,” Gokhale said. A discussion on how to mitigate the level of pollution in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, also took place, he said.