Speaker of Parliament M.Enkhbold received Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan Tadamori Oshima on Tuesday at the State Palace to discuss a wide range of cooperation issues between the two countries. During their meeting, Speaker M.Enkhbold highlighted that Japan is the most important country of Mongolia’s third neighbors, and noted that since the 1990s, Japan has helped Mongolia develop democracy and overcome challenges, during challenging economic times in Mongolia. He expressed gratitude to Japan for granting a soft loan under the International Monetary Fund’s extended fund facility  program, which is being implemented in Mongolia to deal with the nation’s economic challenges. The Speaker emphasized that collaboration between the legislatives of the two countries is of significant importance to strengthening bilateral cooperation, and promoted more cooperation between interparliamentary groups. He noted that Parliament will focus on successfully implementing a midterm program, signed in March, for the development of the economic partnership between the two countries. The mid-term program is considered the main guideline of cooperation between the two nations for the next four years. M.Enkhbold underlined that trade turnover between the two countries in 2016 had increased and that the two countries will take measures to strengthen cooperation between entrepreneurs of Japan and Mongolia, and eliminate challenges such as double taxation. He added that the new Mongolian airport in Khushig Valley, built with Japanese financing, is about to commence operations. M.Enkhbold spoke about a joint coal chemistry complex project, which was previously discussed with Japan’s Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, and reported that a Japanese task force has already conducted a study for the project and asked Speaker Oshima to pay more attention to the project. Speaker Oshima stated that as both countries pursue freedom and democracy, the countries have formed an enduring friendly tie. He said that promoting business, people-to-people, organizations, and legislative relationships will be of great importance to strengthening bilateral relations. He added that the two sides need to constantly meet in dealing with challenges on trade and economic cooperation such as double taxation and transportation, and work to create a fair and transparent investment environment to expand bilateral economic cooperation. Oshima noted that he will instruct Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the ministry to focus on implementing the coal chemistry project in Mongolia. Speaker Oshima also met with Prime Minister J.Erdenebat to discuss some aspects of bilateral relations and cooperation between the two nations. During the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked Speaker Oshima for helping Mongolian athletes who will participate in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics by holding a joint training with Japanese athletes, and stated that the government of Mongolia is supporting the stance of Japan on becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Speaker Oshima asked Prime Minister J.Erdenebat for Mongolia’s assistance in bringing back Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents. He also asked J.Erdenebat to support the Japanese bid to host Expo 2025, under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, in Osaka, Japan. On Tuesday, Japan’s Speaker met with President Kh.Battulga to exchange views on some issues of bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries.