AKIPRESS.COM - Foreign Minister of Mongolia Battsetseg Batmunkh and Foreign Minister of Canada Mélanie Joly issued a joint  statement  on November 20.

Canada and Mongolia reaffirmed their strong bilateral relations, as Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh paid an official visit to Canada at the invitation of Minister Mélanie Joly. This was the first visit by a Mongolian Foreign Minister to Canada in 25 years, according to the statement.

The two Ministers commended the progress achieved in the implementation of the Mongolia-Canada Roadmap for Comprehensive Partnership and agreed to upgrade the bilateral relations to Comprehensive Partnership for the common prosperity of Mongolia and Canada as well as peace and stability in the region. 

The parties underlined the significance of the bilateral development cooperation for the sustainable and inclusive development of Mongolia and welcomed the continuation of the development cooperation program in fostering climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable resource management; public service capacity and inclusive governance; and gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

To further expand the bilateral commercial relationship, both Ministers recognized the importance of diversifying the trade and investment relationship beyond the extractive sector into new areas, such as green building and infrastructure, energy efficiency, climate-smart agriculture, and clean energy, according to the document.

Mongolia emphasized the collective challenges of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), particularly in infrastructure connectivity, transport and logistics, and asked for Canada's support for the complex challenges facing LLDCs.

The Ministers expressed their commitment to advance together the shared values and priorities in multilateral and regional fora, including the UN, OSCE, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. Canada and Mongolia sought to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda by promoting the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in peace and security, including in peacekeeping operations.

Minister Joly commended Mongolia for the "Ulaanbaatar Declaration" and welcomed Mongolia's initiative to convene "World Women's Forum" in 2024.

Emphasizing the importance of education to each country and underlining the increased cooperation between the educational institutions, Canada and Mongolia remained committed to raising awareness among their respective learning institutions of opportunities to pursue studies, exchanges, and work abroad in both countries and to help facilitate the pursuit of new collaborations.