State Secretary works in Australia

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs G.Tsogtsaikhan paid last week a working visit to Australia. The State Secretary shared views on the bilateral cooperation with Mr Peter N Varghese, the State Secretary of the Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and with Mr Peter Rowe, the Department’s First Assistant Secretary. He confirmed that Mongolia considers Australia as an important partner in Asia-Pacific region, and expressed a willingness of Mongolia to bring the bilateral relations and cooperation into an expanded partnership level. Mr Tsogtsaikhan also proposed that the two foreign ministries regularly holds consultative meetings and that Australia changes visa types for the Mongolian youths. The State Secretary held meetings with Ms Julie Bishop, the Australia's Shadow Foreign Minister; Mr Peter Baxter, Director of the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAid); Mr James Batley, the AUSAid Deputy Director-General; and Mr Blair Comley, Secretary of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. On behalf of his government, Mr Tsogtsaikhan thanked the Australian government for adopting the 2012-2016 Strategic Programme for the Developmental Cooperation with Mongolia. Mr Tsogtsaikhan also exchanged views on a collaboration with leaders of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Regulatory Commission of Foreign Investment, the Energy Policy Institute of Australia, the Tourism Agency; and the University of Canberra.