PRESIDENT ELBEGDORJ ABOUT VISIT OF HIS RUSSIAN COUNTERPART

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The leader of Mongolia Mr Ts.Elbegdorj Wednesday gave a report to the media on the working visit of Mr V.Putin, the Russian Federation's President after holding with him a tete-a-tete meeting and expanded talks. Mr Elbegdorj said they exchanged views on the bilateral relations and reached important agreements. Noting that the Mongolia-Russia relations are friendly and peaceful, Mr Elbegdorj expressed a satisfaction with the visit of Mr Putin in times of celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Khalkh River Battles Victory. The Mongolia-Russia friendly cooperation continued in peaceful times through the great construction works, "we consider that our friendly ties are the valuable heritage and great achievements". "We see Mr Putin’s visit as opening of a new page in the bilateral relations," he underlined. Mr Elbegdorj also said they shared views on the fundamentals of the Mongolia-Russia relations, on urgent problems, on the cooperation in transit transportation, trade and economy, finance, investment and humanitarian spheres, international and regional trilateral ties, and then reached specific outcomes. “The working visit of Mr Putin took a very short time but it ran fruitfully and with a vital content. The two sides' governments, organizations and entities have signed 15 agreements, protocols, memorandums and joint documents, which represent a high importance and results of the visit. I want to emphasize that the countries have completely tackled the visa-free traveling of peoples,” Mr Elbegdorj said. The countries also reached agreements to reform the railway sector and to augment the great construction and transport by establishing a partnership agreement on the Ulaanbaatar Railway reforms and developmental strategy. The sides also talked about establishing a trilateral agreement among Mongolia, Russia and China on railway transit transportation as well as Mongolia-Russia intergovernmental agreement on terms of railway transit transportation. “We have noticed a deep gap in the ratio of trade turnover between our countries, so we considered as necessity to increase the bilateral trade turnover to 10 billion US dollars by 2020,” Mr Elbegdorj underlined. He said Mongolia proposed launching talks on allowing Mongolia to export its products to Russia’s market without taxes and customs for 20 years. The parties also agreed to expand the ties and collaboration of the organizations of sports, media, arts, culture and to establish joint training centers and schools, the President said. Expressing a satisfaction with broadening of the bilateral traditional relations and cooperation in military and technical spheres, Mr Elbegdorj said they discussed an issue of having the Mongolian Armed Forces’ representatives take part in a military parade for the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War to be celebrated in 2015. Mr Elbegdorj expressed a satisfaction with an acceptance of the Russian side of Mongolian proposals to organize a trilateral high-level meeting in Ulaanbaatar on the regional security and to cooperate within the international and regional organizations. The working visit of Mr Putin significantly contributed to the bilateral friendly relations and cooperation and opened a new chapter in the ties, said Mr Elbegdorj and invited his counterpart to pay a state visit to Mongolia.