THE ULAANBAATAR DIALOGUE ON NORTHEAST ASIAN SECURITY TAKING PLACE

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ The Fifth International Conference ‘Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security’ is running at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia (MFAM) on June 14-15, with a purpose to strengthen regional security, cooperation and mutual trust. Hosted by the MFAM and the Institute for Strategic Studies of Mongolia, the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue welcomed 150 participants from Russia, China, DPRK, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States, India, Germany and France as well as the United Nations, the EU, the International Red Cross and APEC. In the opening of the international conference, Mongolia’s Foreign Affairs Minister D.Tsogtbaatar delivered remarks, emphasizing, “The Ulaanbaatar Dialogue vividly demonstrates that talks are the only option. Mongolia has been firm in its belief that there is no solution other than talks and engagement. Hence, since early 2000s we have been pursuing the policy of engaging and avoiding the isolation of North Korea. The continuation of this policy in context of failed six-party talks and absence of channels of communication in Northeast Asia led to the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue in 2014. The dialogue has enjoyed broad support among the countries in the region. The number of participating countries has increased and their level has upgraded half step from Track II”. “This year the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue will focus on ways forward to solidify the recent positive developments and share views on the short and long-term prospects of the security environment in the region. As peace and prosperity go hand in hand, the agenda of the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue covers not only peace and security but also energy, infrastructure, environment and humanitarian cooperation issues. We should realize that prosperity of nations and lives of millions of ordinary people are hanging on what we call talks. Thus, talks are a life sustaining and life promoting art and it is the most serious business one could ever think of,” he added. The international conference has two plenary sessions ‘Perspectives on fostering regional cooperation through mutual trust and understanding: challenges and opportunities’ and ‘Northeast Asian security environment towards 2025’. During the sessions, the participants are discussing Northeast Asian security environment towards 2025 from different perspectives, challenges and opportunities and potential cooperation in the areas of environment, energy and humanitarian assistance. Initially held among researchers, academics and experts, the Dialogue elevated its level to track 1.5 in 2017 by bringing regional policy makers and practitioners to Ulaanbaatar. An importance of Ulaanbaatar Dialogue has greatly increased due to the fact that high level talks and summits have been taken place frequently in recent months, demonstrating rapidly changing security dynamics in the region. Source: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia