The 18th Meeting of the Mongolia-Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee has been held from September 13 to 16 to discuss the future path of bilateral cooperation.
Minister of Labor and Social Protection D.Sarangerel and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan participated in the meeting.
During the meeting, the parties discussed a wide range of political, trade, investment, economy, agriculture, road transport, culture, education, environment, tourism, labor, scientific and technical cooperation issues between Mongolia and Vietnam, and defined the direction of cooperation.
Minister D.Sarangerel noted that Mongolia attaches special importance to expanding relations and cooperation with Southeast Asian countries within the framework of its multi-pillar foreign policy, and emphasized that it considers its close partner, Vietnam, as a bridge in this relationship.
In anticipation of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Vietnam in 2024, the two sides agreed to work closely together to implement high-level mutual visits and solemnly celebrate the anniversary.
They also agreed that there is ample potential for further expansion of trade, investment and economic cooperation between the two countries and expressed their desire to expand and develop mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation.
In the future, within the framework of increasing trade between the two countries and making trade flow two-way, the sides decided to continue studying the possibility of exporting coking coal and other mining products from Mongolia to Vietnam.
Moreover, the ministers concurred to create a favorable legal environment for investment between Mongolia and Vietnam and increase the trade turnover between the two countries to 500 million USD by 2025 by developing tourism.
The sides expressed that they will attach great importance to creating a legal framework for the export of deep-frozen beef, mutton and goat meat from Mongolia to Vietnam. The Vietnamese side decided to appoint an evaluation team and relevant experts to Mongolia by the fourth quarter of 2022 and finalize the model veterinary certificate by this year.
Within the framework of preparing experts for economic partnership and free trade agreements, Ministers D.Sarangerel and Le Minh Hoan agreed to continue to organize training to study the experience of Vietnam’s free trade agreements with other countries and further strengthen the capacity of Mongolian experts.
Both sides emphasized the importance of collaborating to find a possible solution to the road transport and logistics barriers between the two countries. In this context, they decided to work closely on the development of road ports, study mutual experience and expand cooperation in the road and railway sectors.
The Vietnamese side expressed its interest in joining the Intergovernmental Agreement on International Road Transport on the Asian Highway Network signed in 2016 by Mongolia, Russia, and China. The Mongolian side noted that Vietnam is open to joining the agreement and expressed its support in this regard.
The two ministers also highlighted the progress in the cooperation between the airlines of the two countries and agreed to cooperate in the development of combined passenger and cargo transportation through regular direct flights between Mongolia and Vietnam.
On top of that, they supported cooperation in the field of labor and social protection, especially in studying the experience of providing jobs to people with disabilities and organizing exchange programs to empower the elderly.
The Vietnamese delegation led by Minister Le Minh Hoan also met Speaker of Parliament G.Zandanshatar, Minister of Roads and Transport Development S.Byambatsogt and Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Kh.Bolorchuluun, respectively.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of agriculture.
