Russia and Mongolia have adopted a declaration that sets clear targets in terms of boosting cooperation between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced following talks with his Mongolian counterpart U.Khurelsukh late last month. The Treaty on Friendly Relations and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in 2019.

When speaking about economic cooperation, Putin emphasized that Russia was one of Mongolia’s major trade partners. According to him, despite the difficulties created by the coronavirus pandemic, trade between the two countries grew by 24 percent in the first nine months of the year. Putin also pointed to the effective work of the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, research and technical cooperation. The Russian president noted that at a meeting in November, the commission had outlined new specific plans for cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, mining, energy, agriculture, and digital technologies.

During 2021, the main exports of Russia to Mongolia were refined petroleum, raw iron bars, railway freight cars, electricity, and insulated wire. The main imports by Russia from Mongolia were feldspar, knit socks and hosiery, knit sweaters, other Engines, and railway freight cars. Bilateral trade is currently running at about USD 1.8 billion.