FOREIGN RELATIONS

FOREIGN RELATIONS
In the wake of the international socialist economic system's collapse and the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, Mongolians began to pursue an independent and nonaligned foreign policy. Mongolia is landlocked between Russia and China and seeks cordial relations with both nations. At the same time, Mongolia has sought to advance its regional and global relations. Ties with Japan and South Korea are particularly strong. Japan has historically been the largest bilateral aid donor to Mongolia, although the ongoing $285 million U.S.-Mongolia Millennium Challenge Compact will put the United States in the top spot until it sunsets in 2013. Mongolia has also made efforts to steadily boost ties with European countries. China is now the largest foreign investor in Mongolia.



As part of its aim to establish a more balanced nonaligned foreign policy, Mongolia has sought to take a more active role in the United Nations and other international organizations, and has pursued a more active role in Asian and northeast Asian affairs. Mongolia became a full participant in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in July 1998 and a full member of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in April 2000. Mongolia is currently seeking to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC). Mongolia is an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), but has stated it does not intend to seek membership. Nonetheless, in 2009 the SCO-financed Durgun Hydropower Station came online. Mongolia, which has diplomatic relations with both North and South Korea, has also sought to play a supporting role in the Six-Party talks. In late 2007, Mongolia hosted a closed meeting between two Six-Party members, North Korea and Japan. Mongolia has also offered to help organize and to host a northeast Asian regional security mechanism. Mongolia is a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership (APDP) and hosted the group's planning meeting in Ulaanbaatar on July 1, 2008. Mongolia sent four technical experts to the ASEAN Regional Forum’s May 2009 disaster relief exercise in the Philippines. Mongolia also hosted a regional workshop of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization in March 2010 and becomes the Chair of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in September 2010.

Mongolian relations with China began to improve in the mid-1980s when consular agreements were reached and cross-border trade contacts expanded. In May 1990, a Mongolian head of state visited China for the first time in 28 years. The cornerstone of the Mongolian-Chinese relationship is a 1994 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which codifies mutual respect for the independence and territorial integrity of both sides. China has objected strongly to visits since 1990 of the Dalai Lama; during the 2002 visit, China briefly disrupted railroad links for "technical" reasons. There are regular high-level visits and expanding trade ties. President Hu Jintao visited Mongolia in 2003 (his first international visit as China's President). President Bagabandi visited China in 2004, President Enkhbayar visited in 2008, and Prime Minister Bayar met Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing in April 2009. Premier Wen visited Ulaanbaatar in June 2010 to open a new cultural center, announce new educational scholarships for Mongolians, and discuss cooperation on infrastructure projects.

After the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, Mongolia developed relations with the new independent states. Links with Russia and other republics were essential to contribute to stabilization of the Mongolian economy. In 1991, Mongolia and Russia concluded both a Joint Declaration of Cooperation and a bilateral trade agreement. This was followed by a 1993 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation establishing a new basis of equality in the relationship. Mongolian President Bagabandi visited Moscow in 1999, and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Mongolia in 2000 in order to sign the 25-point Ulaanbaatar Declaration, reaffirming Mongol-Russian friendship and cooperation on numerous economic and political issues. In December 2003, Mongolia believed it had settled the Soviet-era debt it owed to Russia with a negotiated payment of $250 million. However, in 2009 the Russian Government stated that hundreds of millions of dollars in debts remained unpaid. The two governments are said to be negotiating a resolution to this. In July 2006, Prime Minister Fradkov visited Mongolia with a large business delegation. The Mongolian and Russian Governments continue to jointly own the railroad and the large Erdenet copper mine. Prime Minister Bayar visited Moscow in April 2008, and the following month President Enkhbayar met President Medvedev in Moscow. Prime Minister Putin visited Ulaanbaatar 2 weeks prior to the Mongolian presidential election in May 2009, and President Medvedev visited Mongolia in August 2009 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a combined Soviet-Mongolian victory over Imperial Japan in one of the opening salvos of World War II. After nearly 2 decades of inactivity, Russia is renewing military ties with the Mongolian armed forces through military education and training exchange programs, as well as joint exercises focused on the repair of Mongolia’s Soviet-built equipment. In May 2010, President Elbegdorj visited Moscow to celebrate the anniversary of the end of World War II.